The Chosen
by jhawk
Summary: Draco hates the Weasleys, and the feeling is mutual. But when Voldemort must perform a ritual sacrafice to ensure the success of his second rise to power, Ginny and Draco find themselves running for thier lives. *Chapter 6 up*
1. Ch 1

The man stood silhouetted against the flickering flames in the fireplace. His thin, skeletal body looked like a dark black shadow. 

Slowly, he turned around, his eyes glittering like two rubies. He spoke to the crowd of black-cloaked figures that were all huddled around the fire. His voice was as cold as ice, but smooth.

"As we all know, my return has provided us with some new opportunities. Soon, all of the wizarding world will be under the fist of Lord Voldemort and his Death-Eaters." He paused and surveyed the group of people that were watching him intently.

"But there is something I have not told you. Something I have never told anyone. Before we can be assured full power, there are a few complications that need to be sorted out," His mouth twisted into a malicious grin, "A few lives that need to be taken."

The surrounding crowd sat up straight, looking at their master with anticipation. Lord Voldemort pulled his cloak even tighter around him and scowled heavily.

"I was a fool never to deal with this before! I'll admit to that. But now that I have returned, this can be dealt with immediately."

One of the Death-Eaters stood up and bowed, then spoke to Voldemort in a soft voice. "Whatever it is you need done, my Lord, I am up to the job. Anything you need, anything."

Voldemort smiled evilly, apparently amused. "Funny you should volunteer for this assignment Lucius," he mused, surveying the bowing Death-Eater, "As it involves the death of your own son."

Lucius Malfoy raised his head slowly and stared at Voldemort. He was standing with his arms folded, scarlet eyes fixed coldly on Lucius.

"You, you, what, I mean, what's all this-" Lucius stammered rigidly. Voldemort raised a hand to silence him. 

"I thought we would never have to resort to the old prophecy. If I had thought these measures were necessary, I would have tended to them long ago. But fool that I was, I thought I would always have the upper hand on the rest of the wizarding world."

All of the Death-Eaters were gaping at Voldemort, openly confused. Voldemort sighed heavily and turned his back on them. Then he began to speak into the fire, his cold eyes dancing as the flames lashed out and flickered.

"I, being the heir to Salazaar Slytherin himself, know more dark magic than any wizard living. Of course, there were many dark spells that were passed down in my family, generation to generation. One of them was a spell that ensures you power forever, unless a stronger force acts upon it. It was only expected that any wizard who performed this magic would only have to use it once. And I did use it! When I was at Hogwarts! It involves the selection of two people, one girl, one boy, from two different Hogwarts houses. By killing these people, you are ensured your power. The random selection is made by using an incantation that only I know. And the selection is always a girl and a boy, in two different houses. In my seventh year, when I was beginning to see what kind of life I wanted to lead, I used this spell. And it turned out that a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw had to die. So I killed them." Voldemorts smile grew wider as the memory of the murders came back to him.

"I set the basilisk on Claire Myrtle. And I challenged Robert Noxen to a duel, in which I killed him. But all of it was in vain. The spell was broken when I tried to kill Harry Potter." He hissed evilly and whipped around to face all of the Death-Eaters. 

"And now I have discovered that I need to use this spell again, to make it entirely sure that I will get my old strength back. I have already cast the spell into the fire." 

He gestured at the growing flames that were roaring behind him. "And it has already given me the name of the boy who is to be killed this time." 

He turned his snake-like head towards Lucius Malfoy, who cowered under his hard stare. "It is to be Draco Malfoy, of Slytherin house," said Voldemort, smiling in a satisfied way. 

All of the other Death-Eaters heads turned towards Lucius. Lucius opened his mouth, but no words seemed to be able to come out.

All of a sudden, there was a crackling sound from the fire and a glowing ember flew out of it. The ember hung in midair, then began to move up and down, writing words in thin, bright red flame. 

When it was done, it flew back into the fire and all the Death-Eaters and Voldemort looked at what it had written: _Gryffindor-Ginny Weasly._

Voldemort cackled. "So it's a Gryffindor! Well, this should be most interesting. Shame it wasn't Potter this time." He broke off, cackling. 

"But no matter! We will get around to Potter eventually. But for the time being…" He gave a small laugh, "We have other business to attend to. The Hogwarts term has just begun. We should act as quickly as we can. Go home all of you. Gather anything you might need. Then meet me back here in this hideout tomorrow evening at midnight. Then we'll get to work."

He smiled coldly and suddenly dissaperated, leaving silent Death-Eaters behind him. Without a word, one by one they dissaperated too. 

A few moments later, Lucius Malfoy was the only one left, sitting alone in an armchair in front of the dying fire. He couldn't think straight. Thousands of thoughts were running through his mind. Quite abruptly, the flames went out with a crack, and Lucius Malfoy was left in darkness.

***

Ginny Weasly shivered and pulled her cloak tighter around herself. She gazed off into the steadily darkening sky. A few stars had come out and were casting a soft light over the dark grounds.

Ginny sighed and turned her face up towards the moon. These were the kinds of nights she loved. Just walking along the bank of the ice gray lake, listening to the breeze and thinking to herself.

She went and sat down on a soft part of the lake bank. She took off her shoes and put her toes in the water. It was a little chilly, but she didn't care.

She thought about the beginning of a new year at Hogwarts. The Sorting Ceremony had taken place only fourty-five minutes ago, then came the feast. She had left half way through, to go on a walk. 

"I hope this year will be different," Ginny whispered to herself, closing her eyes. 

Ginny had spent a lot of time over the summer thinking about her previous years at Hogwarts. Her first year had been very unsatisfactory, and her second year the whole school had been worried about Sirius Black. And her third year, well, she didn't exactly consider the return of the Dark Lord to be the wonderful highlight of the year.

"But Hogwarts will be safe. I hope…" She trailed off, her soft voice blending in with a gust of wind that had just began to ruffle the trees.

She wrapped her arms around her knees and tilted her head up towards the sky, eyes closed, letting the wind play across her face and through her hair. 

She sighed again and reluctantly opened her eyes. A bright streak of light suddenly shot across the velvet black sky. Ginny immediately closed her eyes as tight as they would go and began to whish on the shooting star before it was gone completely.

"What's this I see?" A scathing voice suddenly cut into Ginnys thoughts. "Weasly, are you talking to yourself?" 

Ginny opened her eyes slowly and looked up into the face of Draco Malfoy. 

His blond hair was windswept and falling into his cold grey eyes. His mouth was twisted into a gleeful smirk as he looked at her sitting with her feet in the water.

"No I wasn't Malfoy!" Ginny shot at him angrily. 

Malfoy sniggered. "Yeah right Weasly. I suppose you _have_ got to talk to yourself, since no one else wants to."

Ginny gave a loud exasperated groan and shot up, not even worrying about her shoes, which were still sitting beside the lake. She prodded a finger into Malfoys chest and stared him down.

"For you information Malfoy," she said in a low, sharp voice, "I was wishing on a shooting star."

Malfoy looked down at her finger and pushed it away, his eyes on her face, his eyes glittering. 

"A shooting star Weasly?" he whooped, cackling, the sound strangely echoed throughout the deserted grounds. "Why don't you act your age?"

Ginny took a few steps back from him and surveyed him. She noticed with glee that he squirmed slightly under her hard gaze.

"And why don't you stop acting like a spoiled brat and start acting like a gentleman Malfoy?" Ginny asked calmly, eyebrows raised.

Malfoys eyes narrowed. "I don't need to display any sort of courtesy for _you_, Weasly," he spat out, his upper lip curling in disgust.

"Well then I don't see why anyone should show any for you." Ginny said simply. She reached down, grabbed her shoes from the ground and clapped the soles together, making sure the dirt all flew onto Malfoy.

Malfoy gave a sharp cry as some of the dirt flew into his eye. 

"You will pay for that one Weasly," he warned, rubbing his tearing eye. "Make no mistake about that."

Ginny put on a mock thoughtful expression and rubbed her chin, pretending to think hard.

"Well let's see," she began slowly, "Who's acting their age _now_ Malfoy? It seems that you are the one that is crying!" She gave him a mischievous grin and began to walk back to the castle, her red-gold hair blowing in the breeze behind her.

Malfoy, who was in shock from her last comment merely watched her turn her back on him, his face red and tear-streaked from his eye. He gave her back a look of pure loathing and muttered under his breath, "Just wait 'till you see what that is going to get you Weasly, just wait."

She began to disappeared into the mists of the foggy grounds. Malfoy continued to sneer after her retreating form. But then his eye shot a sharp pain through his body once again.

"Damnit!" he cried, clapping his hand to his face. And, swearing under his breath, Draco Malfoy began to stride painfully back to the castle.

* * *

The first morning of the new year at Hogwarts dawned clear and bright. Everything outside the castle on the grounds was very peaceful. Inside the school however, the usual rush and bustle of the students was in full swing. 

"Oh darn!" muttered Ginny as she glanced hurriedly down at her watch. "I can't believe I'm late for my very first class of the year."

She began to take very long strides towards the dungeons to get to the potions room.

At last, she reached the door. She took a deep breath and paused, hand on the door handle, and braced herself for the trouble she knew she was about to get into. She pushed the door open and took a step in.

All of the students heads turned to look at her. The class was a mix of Slytherins and Gryffindors. All of the Slytherins looked at Ginny, then at Snape, who was standing in front of the room, and grinned. The Gryffindors looked worried.

"My, my," Snape said smoothly from the front of the room, "A little late aren't we Weasly? I suppose you have a good excuse?" He smirked, as though he doubted it.

"Actually professor-" Ginny began hurriedly, but she was cut off by Snape.

"I do not care if you have a hundred good reasons, Miss Weasly," Snape spat, icily, "The fact is, you were late for my class! Why don't we make it ten points from Gryffindor and a detention tonight."

Ginny nodded miserably, casting dark looks at Snape as he turned his back to her to make a note of her detention.

"Dear me, what a pity that the first points deducted from a house and the first detention I have given have come from a Gryffindor." Snape looked around at all his Slytherin students with a proud look in his glittering black eyes.

They all smirked at the Gryffindors in turn. Ginny sighed and sat down in the second row next to her friend Brooke.

"Ginny!" Brooke hissed, making sure that Snape wasn't watching them, "How come you were late? You're never late for anything!"

"I was trying to prepare for my classes ahead of time in the library. I guess I just lost track of the time," Ginny whispered back, now taking notes on how to make various kinds of antidotes.

Brooke snorted with laughter. Snape stopped talking to the class about antidotes and looked curiously at her. Brooke quickly turned her laugh into a cough. 

Snape gave her a disgusted look and went back to his lecture.

"What's so funny?" Ginny whispered fiercly.

"It's just so like you Ginny," said Brooke grinning, "Going to prepare for your classes ahead of time. I waited to do all my summer work a day before school began."

"And it shows in your grades too!" giggled Ginny.

"Oh be quiet," hissed Brooke, good-naturedly, "I can't help it if I'm a goof-off. You're the smart one, not me."

Ginny smiled at her friend and motioned to her to start taking notes. After about an hour of listening to Snape talk about the different things they would be doing that year, the bell rang and it was time for their next class.

Ginny and Brooke stopped in the hall to compare their schedules. 

"What have you got now?" asked Ginny, reading her own list of classes.

"Transfiguration," said Brooke, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "I hate that class, I'm so bad at it. What have you got?"

Ginny checked her schedule and groaned. "History of Magic. Oh well, I could use an extra hour of sleep." 

Brooke laughed. "Yeah, I hope you brought a pillow. You could just about die from boredom in that class!" she called, running down the hall to get to Transfiguration. "I'll see you at lunch Ginny!"

"And if you don't it's because I died of boredom!" shouted Ginny after her. And chuckling, she turned around and began to walk towards the History of Magic classroom, eyes still on her schedule. 

"Why don't you watch where you're walking?" spat a cold voice as Ginny suddenly rammed into someone's back. 

Ginny looked up quickly into the face of Marcus Flint, who was standing in the middle of the hallway.

Ginnys eyes traveled from Flint to the boy who was standing, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, a gleeful expression on his face.

"Well well, if it isn't the little red-haired git," cackled Draco menacingly. "And where might you be off to? To wish on another star?"

Draco laughed coldly in her face and Flint, apparently confused, gave a weak chuckle and broke off, looking at Malfoy questioningly. 

Draco noticed the look on Flints face and gave a exasperated sigh. "Nevermind you stupid prat."

He then turned his attention back to Ginny. "Now, Weasly," he said, advancing on her, mouth curled into a malicious smile, "You're not thinking of leaving to go to class without an escort are you?"

Ginny gave him a cold glare, her bright brown eyes darkening. "Not from you Malfoy," she retorted, gripping her books tight in her arms to stop herself from throwing them at his sneering face.

"Well, I won't accept that answer Weasly," said Malfoy smoothly. And without warning, he grabbed her books out of her arms and ran down the corridor.

Ginny let out a cry of outrage and raced after him, leaving Flint behind, still looking bewildered.

She chased Malfoy all the way up a flight of stairs to a deserted hallway. He stopped at the far end of the hall, tauntingly waving her books around in the air and grinning at her.

She skidded to a stop, her hair tangled and messy, eyes filled with rage.

"Give me back my books Malfoy!" she shouted, walking slowly towards him, fists and teeth clenched.

Malfoy threw back his head and laughed, then looked at her and said with mock consideration, "Hmm, let's see. The little Weasel wants her books back. Should I give them to her? No, I don't think so."

Ginny reached where he was standing and shot out a hand to grab her books back, but he held them out of her reach. 

She stood on her toes and tried to get at them, but it was no use, he was quite a bit taller than she was. 

Draco continued to hold her books in the air, out of her reach, laughing gleefully.

He heard Ginny give a huge sigh of exasperation and the next second, he was in considerable pain. 

The books dropped onto the ground with a thud and Malfoy doubled over, gasping for air. He managed to glance up at Ginny, who was standing with her first balled up, her hair in her eyes. She brushed her bangs back and smiled sweetly at him. 

"Being shorter than you does have it's advantages Malfoy. I'm just to right height to punch you in the stomach."

Malfoy groaned and straightened up slowly, still trying to get his breathing back to normal.

"My patience for you grows thin, Weasly," he whispered, trying to glare at her.

Ginny laughed. "You know what Malfoy? That doesn't really sound threatening at all when you say it with the wind knocked out of you." 

And with that, she swept her books off the ground and skipped down the hallway.

Draco scurried after her, wanting to catch up and teach her a lesson. But he only got to the end of the hallway when he was distracted. 

One of the statues that lined the corridor was moving. Draco stopped short and stared at it, heart thumping wildly.

It split in half to reveal a door. Draco took a tentative step closer, but quickly jumped back as the doorknob started to turn. 

Draco gave a gasp, and the next second, a man stepped into the hallway. 

Lucius Malfoy looked around frantically and spotted his son, gaping at him.

"Draco, we need to talk!" Lucius whispered frantically.

And with that, he grabbed Dracos upper arm and pulled him along the corridor, ducking behind statues whenever he thought someone was coming.

Draco was too confused to say a word. He had never seen his father so panicked! Angry, yes. Menacing, certainly. But never scared!

As Draco regained the use of his voice he hissed, "Father, what's going-" But he was cut off as Lucius hastily clamped his hand over his sons mouth and whispered an urgent "Shhh!"

Lucius pulled Draco into an empty classroom and quickly shut and locked the door. He whirled around to face his bewildered son.

"Now Draco, don't speak because there isn't much time. For either of us." 

Dracos eyes widened even more and filled with fear. He never thought he would see the day where his father was scared out of his wits by something. And he did look petrified.

"There are some things that you should know Draco," continued Lucius, even more quickly, "And I know that they will come as a shock to you. But I fear the Malfoy family is going to have to go to Dumbledore for help." Even in the midst of all his panic, Lucius still gave a disgusted look at the thought.

Draco took the opportunity to blurt out, "But, what are you talking about? Why are you here at Hogwarts? I thought you said that the Dark Lord needed you more than ever now that he's come back."

Lucius began to shake as he looked at his son. "Draco, I am not the only one that the Dark Lord needs. He needs you too. More than you know."

Draco looked at his father trembling before him. What was he talking about?

"But father," Draco began slowly, "I thought you said I couldn't become a Death-Eater until I was finished with school."

Lucius stopped shaking and stared at his son with an expression of intense disbelieving. He strode over to him and grasped the collar of his robes and pinned him to the wall.

"Don't be stupid boy," he hissed softly, "Listen to what I am telling you. The Dark Lord wants to kill you. He's after you! Do you understand? That is why we must go to Dumbledore. As much as I dislike the idea, it is the only way to save your life."

He released his grip on his sons collar. Draco slowly slid to the floor, his gray eyes unblinking and full of terror. Lucius looked at him coldly.

"You must understand Draco. What I'm doing for you is perilous for me. I ran away from the Dark lord and the Death-Eaters to come and warn you here! If they hear what I have done…" he trailed off, shaking uncontrollably. "There are going to be dark times upon us Draco. You are not the only one Lord Voldemort seeks for his use."

Draco glanced up at his father. He almost couldn't believe what was going on! Nothing seemed to be going right for him today! 

Ginny, that little brat of a Weasly had punched him in the stomach, and the next minute, his father was telling him that Voldemort wanted to kill him! 

His mind was spinning and he couldn't think strait. He looked up at his father again.

"I don't have time to explain everything Draco. I want to you to go strait to Dumbledore and tell him everything. I'm willing to risk it all for you. In the meantime I'll just-"

There was a huge burst of light and Lucius Malfoy was knocked to the ground. Draco shielded his eyes as the green light expanded. Then a cold voice pierced the air.

"Ah, there you are Lucius. We were worried about you." And Lucius, trembling more than he ever had in his life, fearfully looked up into the faces of Voldemort and the group of Death-Eaters that had appeared in the deserted classroom.

Voldemorts livid, scarlett eyes blazed with icy amusement as he glared at Lucius.

Lucius cowered under his gaze and tried to back away. Voldemort whipped out his wand and casually flicked it. Lucius Malfoy was lifted off his feet and pinned to a nearby wall. Voldemort walked up to him and looked him strait in the eye.

"Well, well, my _faithful_ Death-Eater," he sneered, looking at Lucius with pronounced disgust, "We seem to have created a problem for ourselves haven't we? Tut tut, running away from me was not a good idea Lucius. You should know by now that I have ways of dealing with people."

Lucius's eyes were so wide that you could see the whites all around them. His mouth was moving as he stared at the snakelike face in front of him, but no words were coming out. 

Voldemort rolled his eyes at Lucius's feeble attempt to defend himself. He turned around and addressed the group of Death-Eaters who were standing and watching the scene.

"Take the boy!" he ordered, motioning to the shocked Draco who was still sitting dumbstruck on the floor.

As two of the Death-Eaters began to move towards Draco, he seemed to suddenly snap out of his stiff state.

"Get away from me!" he screeched as he tried to evade their gloved hands. "Leave me and my father alone!"

Voldemort abandoned Lucius Malfoy who was still pinned to the wall and began to stride over to Draco.

"Ah, but I can not do that young Malfoy," Voldemort hissed softly, twirling his wand in between his fingers as he spoke. "You see, you are a vital part of the assurance of the continued rise of the Dark Order. Of course, there will have to be certain, ah, _sacrifices_ on your part. But that is something I am willing to cope with," he finished with an evil grin.

Draco desperately tried to dig his wand out of his robes. He didn't know why, he knew that he had no chance of holding off Voldemort! But he was prepared to try and defend himself all the same.

Voldemort saw Dracos sudden movement. He gave an angry scowl and cried "Asio!" Dracos wand shot out of his hand and into the waiting fingers of the Dark Lord, who gave Draco an icy grin.

"I advise you not to struggle young Master Malfoy," said Voldemort softly, "You want to spend your last moments relaxed and peaceful do you not?

Draco stared unblinking at the tall figure of Voldemort in front of him. He couldn't exactly tell why, but a huge surge of anger was swelling up inside him, like a wave about to break onto the shore.

His father had always been a faithful supporter of the Dark Lord! More faithful than any of the others! And now Voldemort had decided to turn the tables on the Malfoys! 

Draco looked up at the Dark Lord, his eyes glittering. His Father used to have high hopes for him. After he finished school, he was to become a Death-Eater alongside his father.

He would carry out the Malfoy tradition. But it looked like everything was about to change. It looked like Voldemort no longer needed the Malfoys. And Draco had worked so hard too! He had been brought up to understand the Dark Arts, and he was ready for a future dealing with them. _But nothing could have prepared me_ _for this encounter_, he thought grimly as he continued to glare at Voldemort.

Voldemort looked at the boy who was sitting at his feet. It had all seemed too easy. Lucius was scared at the very sight of him, unable to defend himself! Wasn't the cowards son supposed to be even weaker? 

__

But no, he thought_, that is apparently not the case._ Because the boy sitting in front of him was fixing his cool gray eyes fearlessly strait into Voldemorts own. 

In spite of himself, Voldemort was impressed at the young boys courage.

"It's almost a shame you have to die, young Malfoy," said Voldemort, giving an approving chuckle, but still glaring all the same, "You would have made a very promising Death-Eater."

"Maybe so," said Draco in a softly dangerous voice, "If my master did not turn on me that is."

Voldemort laughed a high cold laugh. "Believe me boy, there are far worse things I could do to you."

And with that, he raised his wand and pointed it at Draco. "Stupify!" he whispered, and Draco felt himself slip gently into darkness.

* * *

"That's good Harry! That's very good!" called Oliver Wood from his broomstick as he sped past Harry, "But try to turn a little more sharply!"

Ginny watched as Harry nodded fervently to Wood and began to practice his turning. She glanced at Hermione, who was sitting in the stands next to her, reading The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5.

Ginny sighed softly. Morning classes had ended so she and Hermione had decided to go out to the Quidditch pitch to watch the Gryffindor teams first practice. 

But now that she thought about it, Ginny thought she might as well have just stayed in the castle.

Hermione was too engrossed in her textbook to really talk to her, and they were the only ones who were watching the practice. 

A slight breeze began to ruffle the trees and Ginny went back to watching the players speed around the field, practicing new moves. 

She shook her head and grinned as she watched Ron, one of the new Chasers, trying to show off with some tricky passes involving the Quaffle. 

She began to laugh even more when his attempt to look impressive backfired and he dropped the bright red ball.

Ginnys snort of laughter seemed to break Hermione out of some sort of trance. She quickly looked up from her book.

"What? What happened?" she asked urgently, squinting at the players, apparently thinking someone was hurt.

Ginny smiled at her, eyes twinkling in the sunlight, "Nothing Hermione."

"Oh, well then, I think I'll just get back to my reading." She began to look down once more, but Ginny reached out and touched her arm.

Hermione looked up into the younger girls face. She couldn't help noticing how much she had changed over the years. She had come into Hogwarts as a shy little girl, but now she had become a confidant young woman. Her deep brown eyes, so like Hermiones own, but with little flecks of amber, were looking a little troubled now.

"Hermione, can I talk to you?" Ginny asked softly, her hair blowing in the breeze.

Hermione snapped her book shut. "Of course you can Ginny!" she said consolingly, "You know that you can always talk to me!"

Ginny smiled a little. "I know that, I guess it's just, well," she looked down sheepishly, kicking at the seat in front of them, "Sometimes I feel like you are too busy with Harry and my brother to really talk to me."

Hermione looked at her, her eyes soft and understanding. "I'm really sorry Ginny," she began, "I know it may seem like that sometimes. But you have got to know, I'm never to busy to talk to you, understand?" Ginny nodded, blushing a little.

"In fact," Hermione went on, "I think of you as my little sister, so I'm never going to have anything more important than talking to you."

Ginny looked at her and grinned appreciatively. "Thanks Hermione. But what I wanted to talk to you about was, well, what do I do if I know someone hates me?"

Hermiones expression grew concerned. "What are you talking about Ginny?" she said, confused.

"Well, I know that someone doesn't like me, and h-, they are always teasing me and threatening me," Ginny said, unable to look Hermione in the eye.

"Well, it sounds like they need to get their act together," said Hermione, stiffing at the thought of someone being mean to Ginny.

Ginny whispered a barely audible "Thanks…" and went back to watching the Gryffindor Quidditch players.

She had really been hoping to get some more advice out of Hermione. But now that the conversation seemed ended, she felt as though she didn't want to read too much more into the matter. 

Hermione wouldn't understand. She wasn't affected by things like this much. True, Ginny knew, Hermione had had her own encounters with Draco Malfoy. But Ginny also knew that no one handled it like she herself did.

She tried not to show her true fear when he picked on her. And she seemed to be doing a good job of that. But Ginny also knew that though she seemed calm and untouched, she was really crying inside, unable to comprehend her own mixed feelings.

Quite suddenly, a sharp cry interrupted her thoughts. "Look out!"

Ginny abruptly looked up and saw a red ball zooming strait towards her! Ginny gave a little shriek and ducked as fast as she could. 

The Quidditch ball missed her, but only by a fraction of an inch. Hermione, who had gone back to reading, looked shaken and cross.

"Honestly!" Hermione cried, tossing the ball back to Ron, who had come to retrieve it, "Why don't you watch where you're throwing that thing?"

"Well, we didn't _ask_ you to sit there did we?" asked Ron, grinning.

"No you didn't!" shouted Ginny angrily, "So I think I'll just leave!" And with that, she stomped down the stairs of the Quidditch stadium. As she left, she heard Ron and Hermione talking.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Ron, a little shocked. And then came Hermiones voice. "Oh don't Ron. She's in a bad mood, that's all."

Ginny finished her progress down the stairs and rushed out of the pitch, hair flying behind her.

Yes, she _was_ in a bad mood! She had been like a time bomb ready to explode all day, the littlest thing would set her off. And now it had.

As she continued to rush up to the castle, muttering darkly to herself, she came to the portion of the grounds that went strait by the Forbidden Forest.

Ginny glanced darkly at the shrouded trees that seemed to stretch on forever. Even in the daytime, the forest was shadowed and grim looking. _I have half a mind to go in there_, she thought moodily,_ at least there are no stupid boys in there to steal my books or throw Quaffles at me._

She gave the forest one last shady glance and started to walk again, but something gleaming red in the trees caught her eye. 

She stopped and turned around. She narrowed her gaze, trying to peer through the darkness, but she could not make out what it was. 

Ginny looked around tentatively. No one else was around. She took a hesitant step into the outskirts of the forest. 

Then she gave a startled cry as she clearly saw what was glowing in the darkness. 

Two glittering red eyes looked back at her. And she knew enough to guess who they belonged to, for the man standing there could only have been one person.

Ginny trembled as she stared at Lord Voldemort. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move. Lord Voldemort was here! Right in front of her! 

Her head was spinning and she felt darkness gathering at the edges of her mind. But she clenched her fists tight and refused to let herself pass out.

"Ah, young Ginny Weasly I presume?" mused the tall, skeletal figure.

Ginny didn't say a word. She was too busy staring at Voldemorts eyes. They were glittering like two blood-covered rubies, penetrating the darkness of the forest. She couldn't look away.

Voldemort gave a soft laugh. And in one swift movement, he had extracted his wand from his robes and was pointing it at the small redhead.

"We've got them both," hissed Voldemort with satisfaction, "Let's go. Who's got the traitor?"

A cloaked figure, who was standing with a group of other people, all shrouded in black, pointed to the limp form of a man lying on the ground. They had covered his body with what looked like an extra robe.

"Good," said Voldemort icily. "One of you get the boy, while I take care of this one." He sneered at Ginny.

Ginny was still petrified, but she had suddenly become aware that there was another person lying at the feet of the Dark Lord. 

She broke away from Voldemorts gaze and tentatively lowered her eyes. The boy lying on the ground was obviously knocked out, for he wasn't moving at all.

Ginny narrowed her eyes, trying to see through the darkness. 

The boys hood was partially covering his face. Ginny saw a few strand of silver-blonde hair falling over the closed eyes, the pale skin, the Slytherin house symbol emblazoned on the robes… 

"Malfoy!" Ginny gasped softly.

"Yes, it is indeed Draco Malfoy," said Voldemort, looking down at the heap at his feet. "He preferred to get smart with me, but you will come quietly, will you not?" 

He gave a menacing look that promised her that terrible things would happen if she _didn't_ go quietly.

Ginny gulped, trying to stifle a scream of terror. She wished anyone would come! Anyone at all! It was still daytime, surely someone would be around this part of the grounds!

But then she frowned. No one would be stupid enough to go into the Forbidden Forest.

Quite suddenly, she became aware that there was no one to help her now. She had to fight this one out on her own. It wasn't like her first year. There was not going to be any brave Harry coming to rescue her.

She began to reach absentmindedly for her wand. Voldemort smiled, apparently amused.

"Stupify," he said, even before she got her hand into her pocket.

Ginnys hand went limp and fell to her side. Her eyes rolled and the darkness that had been threatening to overpower her began to take it's toll.

The last thing she heard was Voldemort crying, "We shall take them back to Malfoy Manor! The traitor has the best dungeons and we will need someplace to keep them until we are ready!"

Then she felt her knees give out, and she collapsed in a heap on top of Draco Malfoy.

* * *

When Draco awoke, he found himself in considerable pain. He sat up slowly, trying to adjust his eyes to darkness.

His head and side ached horribly, and his vision was blurred.

He suddenly became aware that there was someone lying next to him. He gave a startled cry and sat up quickly, cracking his head on a sharp rock, which added to his injuries.

He groaned and cradled his head in his hands.

"Who's there?" came a sharp voice from the person to his left.

"I could ask the same thing," grimaced Draco, gritting his teeth as he tried to fight the sharp pains that were running through his body.

"Malfoy?" The voice sounded astounded. "Is that you?"

"Yes!" spat Draco, "Who the hell are you?"

"Oh just my luck," came a low voice, "I'm with Draco Malfoy, of all people."

Draco reached out blindly and grabbed onto the wrist of the speaker.

The person gave a cry and tried to pull away, but Draco held on, peering into the face that was beginning to come into focus.

As his eyes grew more used to the darkness, he saw flaming red hair and deep brown eyes glowing through the darkness.

"Weasly!" he cried, ignoring the pain that shouting produced in his head.

Ginny lashed out and wrenched her wrist free of Dracos grip.

Draco bristled and gave her a hard look, "Well you're not the only one suffering. Do you think I want to be stuck with a little baby like you? Give me a break."

Even in the dimness of their prison, Draco could see Ginnys eyes begin to blaze at his last remark.

"I am not a baby Draco Malfoy," she said in a dangerously soft voice. "If you ever so much as call me that again-"

"You'll what?" shot Draco, glaring back, trying to match the hatred in her eyes with his own. "Run to your Mummy and Daddy?"

"At least I don't complain to my father about every single thing that I don't like!" shouted Ginny, her eyes narrowing more and more every second.

Ginny was surprised to find that Draco suddenly grew quiet at her remark. He slumped against the wall, eyes focused on the ground.

"Um, what's wrong?" Ginny asked softly. She didn't know what to think. She was treading on dangerous grounds. Draco was not exactly known for backing out of an argument, especially where the Malfoy family's honor was concerned.

Draco didn't move his head, but Ginny saw his ice gray eyes harden as he glanced sideways at her.

"Nothing Weasly," he said in an expressionless voice, though his eyes remained cold.

An awkward silence rippled through the air between them. Ginny took the time to get a good look at the room where they were being held hostage.

The walls and floor were made of cold, gray stone. There was moisture in the air and clinging to the walls as though they were somewhere deep underground.

As Draco continued to watch Ginny out of the corner of his eye, he gave her a puzzled look as she suddenly gave a low gasp.

"Of course! Now I remember!" She quickly looked at Draco, her eyes sparkling with hope.

Draco must have looked taken aback because Ginny made an impatient noise.

"We're in your house Malfoy! We're in Malfoy Manor!" she gave a shudder as she looked at the dripping walls. "Well, in the dungeon portion anyway." She added, looking disgusted. 

"What kind of stupid thing is it to have a dungeon in a house anyway? she muttered darkly to herself.

She looked at Malfoy. He was sitting against the wall with a look of complete bewilderment on his face.

"How on earth do you know that we are in the Malfoy dungeons?" he asked incredulously.

Ginny gave him a disbelieving look. "I heard You-Know-Who say that is where they were taking us," she explained, still looking at him in confusion.

When Dracos astonished expression didn't clear, she gave an amused snort. "What? You cant even tell when you're in your own house? You must have taken a blow to the head."

"Shut up Weasly," scoffed Draco, looking around with renewed interest. "You actually think my father would ever let me come into his dungeons?"

Ginny's mouth dropped open. "You mean you haven't even seen all of your house?" she asked breathlessly.

Draco gave a careless shrug. "Father is strict. I don't care. Not like I ever wanted to come down here in the first place."

"So you would have no idea how to get out of here?" cried Ginny, panicked.

"Nope," said Draco simply, still gazing around the dungeon.

Ginny gave an exasperated cry. "Just when I thought being stuck with you was actually going to have an advantage! But no, you don't even know your way around your own stupid house!"

Draco suddenly had a tight hold around both her wrists.

"Listen Weasly," he hissed through clenched teeth, his face very close to hers, "I'm not going to put up with you. Got it? We are in the Malfoy household, you are going to obey me."

He tightened his grip on her wrists, his nails digging into the flesh. He kept his gaze firmly locked into her own. He was pleased to see her expression grow pained as his nails dug even deeper into her, beginning to draw blood.

"So Weasly," he finished, "You are going to have to deal with that fact that the only way we are going to stay alive is if you stop acting like a little brat."

He pushed her violently away, then turned his back on her.

Ginny held her wrists up to her face. They were slippery with blood. She was about to wipe it all off onto Dracos robes when something he had said ran through her mind.

__

"The only way we are going to stay alive…"

Ginny settled for a rude gesture directed at the back of Dracos head, and then slumped down, thinking.

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. They needed to stay alive more than anything else.

She turned her head a fraction of an inch, so she could just see Draco. His sleek blonde hair was curling against the back of his collar.

Ginny felt an strange impulse to reach out and settle it with her fingers. She had begun to raise her arm when she caught herself.

She began to curse herself and her mixed up feelings. Sighing heavily, she turned her head all the way around so Draco was out of her view once more.

She didn't know it, but at the exact moment she turned her head, Draco began to sneak glimpses at her out of the corner of his eye.

She looked so small, just sitting there. Her long hair curled softly down her back.   
Draco shook himself. Had he just been admiring Ginny Weaslys hair?  
He threw her a dark look and tried to forget he ever thought her hair was pretty.  
He crossed his arms and tried to wonder why he hadn't killed her yet. Why hadn't he severely injured her instead of just giving her a few cuts on the wrists?

He made a disgusted face, which he directed at himself.

And they sat there on their own, as the silence spiraled off into the dungeon. 

* * *

After a time of just sitting and listening to water drip down the damp walls of the dungeon, Ginny began to crawl foreword on her knees.

Draco, who had apparently been dozing off, head down, quickly looked up at the sound of her movement.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he hissed angrily at Ginnys retreating back.

Ginny looked over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at him.

"If I am going to be stuck in this dungeon, _your_ dungeon no less, I am going to at least look around a bit," she said forcefully. 

Ginny saw Dracos eyes widen as he looked at her with an expression of utter disbelief

"Are you mad?!" Draco gasped hoarsely, "Are you completely and utterly insane? This is Malfoy Manor Weasly, not some run down shack that you live in! My father has curses and spells on every inch of this place!" 

Ginny, who had just been about to answer with a scathing reply, stopped halfway through opening her mouth as she heard the words "curses" and "spells".

Draco crossed his arms in a final sort of way, put his head back down and waited for her to sit back down. When she didn't, he looked up at her again.

She was still on her hands and knees, looking at him with an odd expression on her face. Draco didn't like it. It was part disgust, but there was a strange softness in her eyes, as if she felt sorry for him.

Then she said calmly, "Well Malfoy, I don't intend to sit here and listen to you snore until Voldemort comes for us. I'm going to check it out, if you want, you can come with me."

And with that, she crawled out into the darkness and out of his sight.

Draco gaped at the spot where she had disappeared. Didn't she have an ounce of sense in her? Going out into any part of the Malfoy Manor unaccompanied by either him or his father was pure craziness!

Draco gave a huge impatient sigh and reluctantly shouted, "Wait a minute Weasly, if you're so stupid as to go out there by yourself, I might as well come with you."

He heard Ginny stop somewhere ahead of him and straightened up to follow her. And as he stood, he was promptly knocked down again as his skull connected with the very low ceiling of the dungeon.

Ginny heard the sound of Dracos head hitting the wall and the thump as his body hit the stone floor.

She tried to stifle her laughter and crawled back over to him.

"Now you know why I was crawling. It looks like you'll just have to contend with getting a little dirt on your robes Malfoy. Not something you're used to, I'm sure of," she said looking down at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. 

Draco scowled at her, got up and began to crawl into the depths of the dungeon. "Don't start getting smart with me Weasly," he said with clenched teeth.

Ginny began to crawl along behind him, grinning in spite of herself at his obvious effort to regain control between the two of them.

"And," he added as an afterthought, "I most certainly do _not_ snore."

He heard Ginny give a snort of laughter and a small "That's what you think!" and he looked back at her. Even in the increasing blackness of the dungeon he could see her eyes twinkling as she smiled.

And to Ginnys absolute amazement, Draco smiled back! True, it was a very small smile, but it wasn't the usual malicious grin that he always had plastered on his face.

Ginnys grin changed to a look of shock as she saw Draco grinning pleasantly at her. They sat there, looking at each other for a couple of seconds.

Then Dracos cheeks turned pink and he quickly turned his head and continued crawling.

Ginnys eyes widened as she pondered her thoughts. Had Draco just acted, well, nice? 

Ginny shook herself and continued scooting along the floor, completely absorbed with her new thoughts.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't even realize Draco had stopped.

She crawled strait into him and heard him growl as she stammered a quiet "Sorry…"

Dracos grin was no longer on his face. It was replaced by his usual cold expression.

"Why did you stop?" Ginny asked tentatively, craning her neck to try and see if something was blocking the path. It was fairly hard to do this since she could see no further than about a foot in front of her.

"Because there is a wall in the way Weasly," scoffed Draco impatiently.

"Well excuse me," Ginny muttered, resting her chin in her hands. "So, what are we going to do now?"

"I don't know Weasly!" shouted Malfoy, his voice raised in anger. "Don't you think I'd have done something a long time ago if I knew what to do?"

"Says the boy who doesn't even know his way around his own house!" cried Ginny, matching his anger with her own. 

Ginny heard Malfoys arm shoot out and collide forcefully with the dungeon wall.

"Damn!" he cried as he cradled his arm, wincing at the pain. Ginny gave a dark smile. He had clearly been trying to hit _her_, not the wall.

There was a sudden grinding noise as the part of the wall that Draco had hit began to crack, letting a sliver of pale light into the dark dungeon. 

Ginny and Draco gaped at it as the crack widened and split even more, separating until there was a square gap about two feet square across.

As the soft light illuminated the dungeon, Ginny and Draco both shielded their eyes. After being confined into the dismal dungeon for so long, any light was hard on their eyes.

They both sat for a couple of seconds, neither one moving, just looking alarmed at the entrance that had opened before them.

Then Draco heard an irritated voice behind him. "Well, are you going through or not?"

He glanced behind him and saw Ginny, hands on her hips, waiting for him to leave through the gap.

Draco shot her what he hoped was a mean look, and crawled out of the dungeon into the passage that the gap led to.

As he emerged completely, he was finally able to stand strait up and stretch. It felt so good to be able to do that after crouching for so long.

As he flexed his sore body parts, Ginny came scrambling into the passage behind him. 

He looked at her. Her hair was tangled down her back and her cheeks were flushed. Yet, she was shivering. But her eyes had not lost their liveliness. They were darting all around, still squinting in the light.

Ginny looked at Draco. Now that the light was illuminating the small hallway, she could see him clearly. 

His robes were dirty and torn in some places. His usually sleek hair was falling into his eyes.

"Where are we?" Ginny asked in a small voice.

"Well, we are obviously still in my house aren't we?" shot Draco, but his voice was slightly softened as he had started to take tentative steps down the light-filled passage.

"How many places are there in your house that you know nothing about Malfoy?" questioned Ginny exasperatedly, "Maybe we will eventually wander into a portion of your Manor that you will know how to navigate around in!"

"Well, we stumbled upon that one by accident," said Draco, turning to her with an amused smile and a cold twinkle in his eye. "Just think Weasly, if I hadn't tried to hit you, we'd still be sitting in that cold dungeon."

"Oh ha ha, very funny," said Ginny, quite un-amused. "Well, take a swing at me right now Malfoy! Perhaps we'll discover a passage right to your dumb old bedroom!"

Dracos cold grin was suddenly replaced with a shocked look. It then grew into a cold stare. 

"And just why do you want to go in my bedroom Weasly?" he asked softly, now grinning mockingly at her.

Ginnys eyes widened and her cheeks flamed. "What?" she cried, "What are you talking about? Oh, just…just shut up Malfoy."

And she stormed off, pushing him out of the way. As she stalked by him, Draco couldn't help but grin. He loved it when he got the better of her.

They eventually reached the end of the passage. At it was another solid wall. But this wall had a big 'M' on it.

Since Ginny had reached it before Draco, she stood and looked at for a second, then turned and gave him a questioning look.

As Draco approached and saw the M, his face split into a wide grin.

"Finally!" he cried, "Something I actually recognize!" And he walked right up to the wall, put his hand over the M and whispered something.

The wall opened up into a room and Draco climbed out of the passage, looking around gleefully.

"What did you just do?" gasped Ginny as she followed him into the room.

"My father put those all over our house," explained Draco. "You know, shortcuts. Since our house is so big, we definitely need them."

"Oh. So where are we now?" asked Ginny, peering around.

As she gazed around the huge room, she couldn't help but be impressed. She had to admit, the Malfoys had style. The room was beautifully furnished with sleek black furniture and many expensive-looking decorative objects.

"This is one of the drawing rooms," Said Malfoy, heading for the big door at the other end of the room.

"Where are you going?" squealed Ginny.

"Well, I don't know about you, but when Voldemort comes back, I don't intend to be here," he said, pulling open the huge doors.

Ginny ran after him. As they closed the doors, they heard a whooshing sound and looked up, startled.

They were looking into the face of the meanest looking ghost Ginny had ever seen. It was covered in chains and was scowling heavily at them.

Ginny grabbed onto Dracos arm, terrified. The ghost was hovering between them and the entrance to the long hallway.

"Malfoy!" squeaked Ginny, petrified, "What is that?!"

"Oh, don't worry," said Draco, unruffled, it's just one of the precautions my father put on this place. You know, to stop intruders and all. As long as you know all the ways out of the traps and stuff, you're all right."

"And you know how to get rid of it right?" hissed Ginny, still cowering in fright.

"Oh yeah," boasted Draco, "My father taught me how to get past all the stuff he put in here."

Ginny saw him reach into his robes. She glanced up once more at the ghost. It was glaring at them, as though it was just daring them to take one more step.

"Come on Malfoy!" she said, a little louder, "Let's get rid of that thing."

When there was no reply, she looked at him. He was standing with his hand inside his robe pocket, face completely white, eyes wide and frightened.

"I've just remembered," he said in a flat, distant tone, staring right through her, "Voldemort has my wand."

Ginny's jaw dropped and her huge eyes stared at the wandless Draco.

"Theres only one thing we can do," said Draco in a flat, expressionless voice.

"And what's that?" hissed Ginny, eyes flicking up towards the menacing ghost.

"Run!" shouted Draco, and he hurled himself past the ghost and down the hall, robes whipping around behind him.

"Malfoy!" Ginny gave a piercing shriek and catapulted after him, almost tripping in her haste. 

They flew down the corridor, not daring to look behind them. They could hear the swooping and rushing of the ghost as it came closer and closer! 

"Quick, in here!" Draco shouted, quickly pulling a door open. His arm shot out and grabbed the sleeve of Ginnys robes, tugging her in after him.

He slammed the door as fast as he could and locked it in a frenzy. He then slumped down against the door, panting.

"Are you mad?" cried Ginny, flinging her hands up, "That's a ghost Malfoy! They have the tendency to be able to walk through solid objects! Such as a door!" she pounded her own fist on the door for emphasis.

Draco shook his head. "This door is enchanted," he explained, "No ghosts can get through."

Ginnys expression became thoughtful. "Oh, that was quite a clever thing to do," she said without thinking. She then realized that she had complimented something the Malfoy family had done. She quickly clamped her hand over her mouth, but Draco had already heard.

"Why thank you Weasly," he drawled. He stood up and bowed with a flourish. "It's about time you started realizing we Malfoys have got brains. More brains than are under the red hair of your family." He gave her a smirk and began to stride across the red-gold carpet of the floor.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Malfoy, if I have to listen to you insult my family one more time-"

"Oh, are you getting tired of it Weasly?" asked Draco, grinning wickedly at her, "I completely forgot that you might not find it as amusing as I do."

"As a matter of fact, I don't find it amusing at all," shot Ginny, crossing her arms. Then, "Malfoy, what are you doing?" 

Draco had walked to the open window and pressed his ear against it, listening hard.

"Shut up Weasly," he hissed, "I'm trying to tell if this window is enchanted or not."

Ginny gave a startled sort of laugh. "I don't believe this!" she laughed in disbelief, "Even your _windows_ are cursed? It's not enough that your house has to have dungeons and murdering ghosts, but even the everyday objects are capable of blowing your head off!"

"Nah," shrugged Draco, straitening up, "The worst thing one of the windows could do would be to chop your hands off if you tried to open it."

"Oh and that makes me feel _so_ much better," Ginny spat.

"It doesn't matter anyway," said Draco dismissively, "This one's not enchanted," and he rapped his fist on the glass.

"And how can you tell that?" asked Ginny, wonderingly. It looked just like a regular window to her.

"You have to listen for the hum," explained Draco. "The enchanted ones give off a very soft hum. But you would never think to listen to a window before opening it unless you live here. That's why it's so useful for dealing with thieves and stuff."

"Oh, of course, I had heard that violent windows were highly effective," Ginny droned, rolling her eyes.

"Don't get an attitude Weasly," grunted Draco as he pushed the window open, "Or I just might not warn you the next time you decide to escape through a window in my house." He stuck a foot out, and Ginny grabbed onto the back of his robes. He stopped and looked at her.

"What are you doing?" she cried.

Draco heaved an enormous sigh. "Let me lay it out for you Weasly," he said, speaking slowly as though he thought she was a bit dim. "We are here in my house, supposed to be being held captive. Voldemort and his Death-Eaters will be coming for us eventually. Not to throw us a party or anything. They are coming to kill us. I don't know if I need to make it any more clear."

"Jump out the window before I push you out Malfoy," she huffed.

"As you wish!" shouted Draco as he forced himself out. Ginny heard him land on the ground below and stuck her head out. Draco was standing on the ground about seven feet down, looking strait up at her. Apparently the window wasn't that high up. Ginny took a look around. It was mid-afternoon, judging by the position of the sun. It was a crisp and windy day, with a hint of rain on the air.

"Well, jump for goodness sake!" yelled Draco, breaking her thoughts and glancing up at her.

"Here goes nothing," Ginny muttered, and she climbed out through the window. She kept lowering herself until she was hanging onto the outside of the windowsill by the tips of her fingers. She groaned. She had never had wonderful experiences with dropping from high places. 

She still clung fast to the window. She wanted to let go, to be on the ground! But she couldn't will her fingers to unclench.

"You know Weasly," came a soft laughing voice from below her, "That's not too great of a thing to be doing in a skirt."

That gave her the will she need to let go of the window.

"Malfoy!" she screamed in exasperation. She fell to the ground with a thud. She stood up angrily, face as bright as her hair, tugging her robes and skirt strait again.

She looked over at Draco. He was chuckling to himself, staring off at some distant trees.

"If you aren't the rudest person I've ever met, I don't know who is!" Ginny shrieked defensively.

"Oh be quiet Weasly," said Draco, still laughing, "If you were a guy you wouldn't be saying that."

Ginny could think of no reply to this, and she wasn't sure she really wanted to. That wasn't the type of thing she wanted to be talking to Draco Malfoy about right now.

"So," Ginny began cooly, forcefully trying to control her rage, "Now what?"

"What do you mean 'now what'?" scoffed Draco. "We get the hell out of here, that's what!"

And he turned and began to take long strides towards a circular grove of tall trees that stood a little ways off to their right.

As they reached the trees and stood in the middle of the circle that they created, Ginny saw that the air all around them was sparkling faintly, and it smelled a little like a mixture of cinnamon and roses. The smell was highly soothing and Ginny found herself to become a little more calm.

"Stand here," directed Draco, and he pointed to a spot near the center of the grove. Ginny did as she was told. Draco came and stood next to her.

"What are you doing?" Ginny asked in awe, as she felt the magic in the grove increase. 

"This place is sort of like having floo powder," Draco said, "All you have to do is stand here and say where you want to go, and you are taken there."

"Really?" Ginny gasped without thinking. "I want to go see Ron! And Harry and Hermione and-"

"No! Don't!" shouted Draco, trying to cover her mouth with hjs hand, but he was too late. The magic was already whisking them off to wherever Harry, Ron and Hermione were.

As they felt themselves being pulled along in a rush of magic, Ginny grabbed onto Dracos arm. A swirl of dark blue and purple was descending upon them. Ginnys stomach gave a lurch and she and Draco were thrown onto a gravel path. They lay facedown, the pebbles digging into their faces.

"Let go of my arm Weasly!" shouted Draco gruffly, pulling it away.

Ginny sat up, slightly dazed from their journey. She then realized where they were and gave Draco a startled hit on the shoulder.

Draco glared at her and opened his mouth, about to make a snide remark.

"Malfoy! We're in Hogsmeade!" Ginny shouted gleefully.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione walked in a subdued group around the side of the Shrieking Shack. They were much quieter than they usually were.

"I just can't see how I am supposed to enjoy myself here," said Ron quietly, "I mean, I don't see how I can ever enjoy myself ever again. Not since my sister…"

"It's been hard on all of us Ron," said Hermione consolingly.

"Yeah," Harry added softly, "And Malfoy as well. Why did both of them have to…"

"Shh Harry," whispered Hermione. "I thought we said we weren't going to talk about it anymore."

There was a very awkward silence as they made their way towards the path leading down to the main village.

"It's strange," Harry said abruptly, "You don't actually miss someone like Malfoy until they're gone. Then you wonder why you couldn't have gotten along better with them."

"I know exactly what you mean," Ron agreed in a low voice.

Suddenly, Harry and Ron's thoughts were interrupted by a startled yell from Hermione.

"Hermione! What the?" But Ron and Harry stopped talking. Hermione was as white as a ghost, frozen stiff, pointing at something ahead of them.

Harry and Ron turned their heads to see what had caused her scream.

Lying on the gravel path, in a heap of robes, were two figures. One with bright red hair, one with sleek blonde hair.

"Oh my God," breathed Ron, rubbing his eyes as though he didn't believe what he was seeing.

The figures stood up, and they saw them in full sunlight.

"Ginny!" Hermione shrieked, running to her and embracing her.

Harry and Ron gave strangled yells and threw themselves at Ginny too. Ginny hugged each one of them, grinning so hard she thought her face might crack.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were all crying.

"We thought you were, were-" But Ron broke off, sobbing as he hugged his little sister again.

"You don't know how glad we are to see you!" cried Harry, hugging Ginny just like he would if she was his very own little sister. Ginny was positively beaming.

Draco watched all this with a stormy expression. When they finallyturned their gaze on him, they didn't greet her like they had done with Ginny.

"You have got a lot of explaining to do," said Harry, his eyes turning cold.

"Me?" gaped Draco, "You think that _I_ had anything to do with the kidnap of Weasly over there?" he waved his hand at Ginny.

Ron was about to tell off Malfoy, but Ginny reached out and pulled him back.

"No Ron, don't. Malfoy didn't do anything, he has been in just as much danger as me."

Hermione looked shocked. Then she said quite suddenly, "Everyone quick, into the Shrieking Shack, we'll talk in there." Hermione performed a charm that unlocked the door, and together, they trooped up the creaky old stairs into the run-down and murky house.

Once inside, they sat down on the torn couch and chairs that were scattered across the room.

"So," said Ron shortly, "You were going to explain yourself Draco?"

Draco stretched out on the couch. "And here I thought I was going to be greeted by cheers. After all, you don't miss someone like me until I'm gone. But now that I'm back, where's my appreciation?" He gave them a sly grin.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Typical Malfoy," he groaned, "Everyone has been thinking he was dead, and the first thing he says when he gets back has to be a smart-alek remark."

"That's not funny," said Ginny in a barely audible voice.

They all looked at her. "Whats wrong Ginny?" asked Hermione, very concerned.

"Why don't you just ask us what _isn't_ wrong?" drawled Malfoy, "That question will take less time to answer."

"What are you on about?" Ron shouted exasperatedly. "If you two weren't dead, where have you been all this time?"

"We were spending all our time trying not to be killed by Voldemort, Weasly," snapped Malfoy coldly.

The effect of this sentence on Harry, Ron and Hermione was incredible.

Harry's hand flew to the scar on his forehead, Ron's eyes nearly bugged out of his head, and Hermione gave a shriek and clapped her hand to her mouth.

"We don't know why," Ginny explained, "We just know that he wants to kill us."

"You need to talk to Dumbledore right away!" screeched Hermione in a panic.

"We would have!" shouted Draco, "But Weasly here messed up the transportation spell that we used!"

Ginny reached over and shoved Malfoy. "I'm terribly sorry, but can't we just deal with the matter at hand now?" she glared at him, her eyes wide and frightening.

Hermione stood up and spoke to everyone. "We need to get you to Dumbledore right this second. Lets go. You can explain everything else on the way."

"Right," said Harry briskly, "Let's go." They got out of their chairs and proceeded in single file out of the Shrieking Shack, Ginny and Draco at the back of the line.

As they reached the door that led outside, they climbed out one by one, making sure no one would see them exiting.

As Harry, Ron and Hermione exited with Hermione saying, "We wont stop for anything, just go directly to the castle-" there was a sharp snap as the door to the Shrieking Shat slammed shut, leaving Draco and Ginny still on the inside.

They heard Harry, Ron and Hermiones frantic shouts from the other side of the door.

"No!" Ginny cried shrilly, and she flung herself towards the door, beating it wildly with her fists.

They could hear the trios muffled shouts as they attempted to unlock the door, but all of the things they tried failed.

"Damnit!" cried Draco, in an outrage. He picked up a spindly chair and hurled it at a wall. It crashed and splintered into pieces at he impact.

The noise seemed to break Ginny and she began to cry noiselessly. Draco looked at her as shesat on the floor, tears rolling down her cheeks. They had been through so much already, Draco thought, it had just been looking good. They were going to go to Dumbledore and stop all of it! But apparently that wasn't the case now.

Draco sat down next to Ginny and fought to control his own emotions. His eyes were burning at the corners, tears threatening to escape and roll down his trembling cheeks.

The distant yells of Harry, Ron and Hermione slowly faded away until Ginny and Draco couldn't hear them at all. Draco tentatively put his arm around Ginnys shoulders, trying to console her.

Ginny looked up at his touch. Her cheeks were pink and shiny from tears. Her eyes were sparkling from the water that had escaped.

"Thanks Draco," she whispered gently, "Thank you."

Draco gave her a lazy sort of smile. "Hey," he said with kindnes in his voice, "If I have to be stuck with you again, I want to make sure you aren't bawling your eyes out."

Ginny gave a playful little chuckle.

And the next second, there was a loud, earsplitting crash that shook the whole house.

Ginny screamed as the wood floor trembled. The old windows rattled around in their frames and the rotted shutters threatened to fall off.

After a couple of seconds, the house stopped rumbling and there was a shocked silence. Dracos eyes were wide and terrified. His arm was still around Ginny, and it he had tightened his hold on her as the explosion had occurred. 

"What was that?" Ginny hissed in a panic.

"I don't think I want to know," Malfoy said, shooting up and trying to pull the door open again, "And I'm not sticking around to find out." His attempt to try and escape were in vain however, the door remained closed.

"You don't think it's, it's You Know Who Do you?" asked Ginny, wide eyed and trembling.

"Shut up Weasly and help me with this door!" Malfoy shot scathingly. 

Ginny scrambled off the floor and desperately threw herself against the disagreeable door.

As they became more and more desperate, they suddenly heard footsteps coming from the upper level of the house, where the crash had taken place.

They slowly stopped pounding on the door and turned their heads towards the shadowy staircase. The sound of footfalls was increasing. 

The hair on the back of Malfoys neck pricked up and a sharp chill ran down his spine. Ginnys eyes began to water, and a trickle of sweat ran down her neck. They both flattened themselves against the door, to frightened to move.

To their horror, they saw two pairs of feet began to descend the old stairs. The two people moved on, each footstep promoting a squeak from the creaky steps. The dark shadows kept the faces shrouded. 

Malfoy, on instinct, reached down and grabbed Ginnys hand, prepared to defend himself and her.

The two figures suddenly emerged on the landing. Malfoy shut his eyes tight before he could see the face of Lord Voldemort again. He didn't want to ever see that face again if he could help it.

He heard Ginny give a shout. "What the? Fred! George!"

Malfoys eyes flew open. The Weasly twins were standing at the foot of the stairs, smiling in a confused sort of way.

"You were expecting the giant squid perhaps?" grinned Fred, eyebrows raised. 

"Well we certainly weren't expecting two red-headed gits to appear!" yelled Malfoy, bristling. He was in shock. He had been terrified that they were about to be confronted by Lord Voldemort himself! But no, it had turned out to be the Weasly twins!

"Well, when we took this shortcut," said George, "We definitely weren't prepared to find our little sister all alone with a slimy-haired pratt like you, Malfoy." 

"Holding hands no less," added Fred.

Draco looked down, blushed, and immediately dropped Ginnys hand like it was a red hot poker.

Ginny ran to Fred and George and hugged them. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you two." She murmured, burying her face in Georges shoulder.

"And what about you, Malfoy?" said Fred brightly, "Are you happy to see us as well? Because from the look on your face, I'd say you were ready to boil us in oil."

Draco sneered at him. "Not a bad idea, Weasly. Remind me about that one sometime," he finished sarcastically.

Fred ignored Malfoy and turned to Ginny. "You know," he said slowly, "We've been traveling around since we've finished school. We've heard rumors about you two."

"You and the rest of the wizarding world." Sighed Ginny.

"Yeah," added George, "None of the rumors were too pretty mind you. Something about you being killed by Voldemort."

"Well, we haven't been killed yet," whispered Ginny, eyes filling with tears, "But it's only a matter of time-" she broke off into sobs.

"Don't cry Gin," said Fred comfortingly, "We're going to look after you, all right?"

Ginny rubbed her eyes, nodded and gave him a watery smile.

"But we can't make any promises about him," said George, jabbing his finger over at Malfoy, "Pity he has to be involved in this."

"Pity you can't keep your mouth shut Weasly!" shot Draco, glaring.

"Pity I have a wand and it looks like you don't," said George cooly, brandishing his wand at the suddenly cowering Malfoy.

"Now," said Fred briskly, walking back up the stairs, "Tell us the whole story on the way."

"On the way where?" asked Ginny, scrambling after him.

"You'll see," said George, pushing Malfoy up the stairs as well. Malfoy gave George a murderous look and was about to say something when George suddenly pointed his wand at Dracos throat and said impatiently, "Permaquietious!" Draco gasped and clutched his hand to his throat. His voice had gone.

"Well, that's an improvement!" said Fred triumphantly, "Shame it isn't permanent." 

Dracos mouth twisted and a few defensive gurgles rose from his mouth.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Malfoy," said George cheerfully, leading the way into an upstairs room, "It just might make the spell last forever."

He winked at Ginny and Fred. Malfoys eyes narrowed and he stalked into the room after them.

"We were using one of our patented shortcuts that we made to lead into Hogsmeade," explained George as he led them into a spacious closet.

"When we were still at school we devised our own ways of getting around," laughed Fred, "No one ever knew about them but us."

"How could they, we invented them!" added George.

"All that time when we were supposed to be studying for exams," sighed Fred, "We were off creating illegal means of transport."

"But you have to admit we did a bloody good thing. If we hadn't felt like paying a visit to good Old Hogsmeade, we never would have found you Ginny!" grinned George, hugging Ginny around the shoulders.

Malfoy gave another sharp gasp that was muffled by the spell.

"Oh yeah," said Fred in distaste, "If we hadn't have come, we never would have found Malfoy either."

Fred and George looked at each other.

"I take it back," said George decidedly, "Anything we do that leads us to scum like him is not a worthwhile cause."

"Oh shut up you two," said Ginny grinning, "And let's get out of here."

"Come to think of it," said Fred thoughtfully, pulling out his wand, "Why didn't we just apparate here?"

"I don't know," said George, raising his eyebrows, "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that last time we tried to apparate somewhere, we ended up on top of a glacier by the North Pole."

"True," said Fred, shivering, "My toes still freeze up at the thought."

"All right!" cried Ginny impatiently, "Can we get a move on?"

"Where to, George?" questioned Fred, shutting the closet door.

George thought for a minute. "Let's take them to Charlie and Bill. We'll contact Mom from there."

Fred nodded and pulled out his wand too.

"Where are Bill and Charlie?" Ginny asked.

Fred and George motioned for her to be quiet and touched the tips of their wands together.

They whispered a jumble of words that neither Ginny or Malfoy could quite hear.

And the next second, there was a huge bang, and they were speeding along.

Ginny began to feel quite sick as the spinning and rushing increased.

She could hear Fred and George laughing and hollering with glee as they whooshed off. Dimly, she could see Malfoy, his mouth opened in a silent yell.

And the next second, they were thrown onto a sand dune, face first.

Ginny heard Fred say, "Well, the landings are the only things that need to be worked on."

Ginny sat up and brushed herself off. As she raised her head she began to feel very warm. The sun was huge, blazing overhead, and it hurt her eyes.

"Where are we?" she groaned, squinting into the blaze of sun.

"Egypt," shrugged George, "At least I hope we're in Egypt. Well, at least we know it's not a glacier."

Fred pointed at a pyramid that stood off in the distance. "Yup," he said proudly, "I don't think there are pyramids in deserts of snow."

"Let's go find Bill and Charlie then!" said Ginny happily, straitening up.

"They're here with some other people doing something for the Ministry," George told her, "They should be around here somewhere."

"Well then let's get off of this infernal sand dune," said a scathing voice.

Fred, George and Ginny all turned around.

Malfoy was standing up, brushing himself off.

"You can talk again!" cried Ginny.

Fred shook his head. "Shame," he sighed, "I was just beginning to get used to you Malfoy."

Draco sneered, glancing sideways at the wands in the twins hands.

"Well then!" said George briskly, "Moving on!"

And they began to walk across the golden sand, the sun setting slowly in the red-orange sky.

Fred, George, Draco and Ginny had been walking for about a half an hour, but the bright Egyptian sun made it seem like much longer. Unlike the twins, Draco and Ginny were wearing their school uniforms, which were much more stuffy than the twins light garments.

"Wait, hold on!" Ginny gasped as she tugged at her buttoned up collar. She had already removed her black robes and her sweater. 

The boys turned towards her, their faces flushed and glimmering with sweat. Draco held his robes and sweater in his arms as well. He reached up, undid his tie and let it hang loosely around his neck as Ginny did the same, and unbuttoned the top button on her shirt.

Draco turned to Fred and George.

"Why couldn't your stupid shortcut have dropped us in a sand dune closer to our actual destination?" he scowled fiercely. 

"Shut that big mouth of yours Malfoy," said Fred, "Or you'll be eating sand." He scooped some up from the ground and waved it threateningly in Dracos direction.

Ginny grabbed her robes from the ground and continued to walk.

"Only you would have the energy to argue when it's so hot wouldn't you Malfoy?" she sighed.

"Heat doesn't make me a weakling Weasly," spat Draco.

"Then maybe the jelly legs jinx would do the trick," mused George thoughtfully.

"It's too hot to be cursing and hexing people Geoge!" cried Ginny in a defeated voice, "Even if it happens to be an insufferable person such as Draco."

Fred and George looked at each other, exchanging a surprised glance.

"Since when do you call him _Draco_?" asked Fred, spitting out the last word with pronounced disgust.

Ginny blushed, making her cheeks even redder than they were before the sun had turned them rosy.

"Did I say Draco?" she asked, laughing nervously, "I meant Malfoy. Of course. All this sun is going to my head," she finished quickly, "No wonder I'm not making any sense!" She looked at Fred and George who frowned, but shrugged it off.

Ginny saw Draco roll his eyes and give her an exasperated look.

"How long until we get there Fred?" asked Ginny, quickly looking away from Draco.

"I'd say right about…" said Fred, trailing off and holding his hand over his eyes to shade the sun.

"Now," said George simply as a cluster of buildings came into view.

Their group approached the buildings, and Ginny and Draco were surprised to see that some of them were quite large.

"Why are there so many buildings like this out in the middle of nowhere?" said Ginny softly.

"Security precautions," shrugged Fred.

"If they can't find 'em, they can't attack 'em," added George.

"And even if they do find them, they'll still have to deal with this blasted heat," Fred put in, eyes squinting against the glare.

"Because you know what they say," began George, "If you can't stand the heat…"

"Don't bother coming to Egypt," finished Fred.

Ginny was still confused.

"But why do they need security procautions?" she asked, her brow furrowed, "I mean, what goes on here? And why are Bill and Charlie here?"

"This is a where lots of the Ministry work takes place," explained George, "And they don't want people who are against them to be able to find them too easily."

"Like who?" demanded Draco, scowling.

"Oh, you know," said Fred airily, "People who don't like the laws that the Ministry passes, people who always want things their own way, people who interfere, people who get the Headmaster of Hogwarts suspended by blackmail."

Draco glared at Fred, who smiled and said brightly, "Well, we should probably go find Bill and Charlie now. Tell them you're here."

"But why are _they_ here?" Ginny asked again as they began to walk up a road that led in between two tall structures.

"They wouldn't tell us exactly why, come to think of it," said George with a disappointed look, "Wouldn't even tell Mum, but I think Dad stayed in England when they came here. Said he would let them help the Ministry members here and he would meet up with them later."

Ginny nodded, fatigued. The sun seemed to be getting hotter and hotter every second they stayed outside. Her hair was lank and plastered to her head from the sweat that was dripping all over her body. She glanced over at Draco. By the look of it, he was suffering too. His usual sauntering walk was replaced with a straggling shuffle. His silver-blond hair looked even paler than usual as it stuck to his head more than it usually did.

Fred and George led them to a building with a large dome on top. The dome was made of glass, but Ginny thought it must be enchanted to block out the sunlight because it was shimmering with different, colors unlike ordinary glass.

As they approached the building, several people came bursting noisily out of it's large doorway. Among them was…

"Bill! Charlie!" cried Fred, beckoning to them.

Bill and Charlie looked over, and their expressions became surprised. They hurried over.

"Fred! George! Ginny!" cried Charlie, hugging Ginny fiercely, "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah, care to enlighten us?" chuckled Bill good-naturedly ruffling Ginnys soaked hair.

Draco looked at the two oldest Weasly boys. This was his first time seeing them. _Actually,_ Draco thought,_ I think the one with the fang earring was at Hogwarts during my fourth year._

His thoughts were interrupted by the other one, the one without the earring saying, "And who is this that you've brought with you?"

Draco looked up. This one had to be Charlie. 

"I'm Draco Malfoy," he said, eyeing the redheaded boy.

"Malfoy?" asked Bill, frowning a little, "As in Lucius Malfoy?"

"That would be my father," said Draco shortly.

Bill and Charlie exchanged glances full of meaning.

"So it's you is it," said Charlie softly, "You and Ginny."

Seeing the quizzical looks on all of their faces, Bill said, "We've heard stories about you two. Many of them."

"And none of them too pretty," added Charlie darkly.

"You'd better come inside," said Bill quickly, suddenly alert, "I think you have some questions that you might want answered."

Ginny nodded, about to speak, but she was cut short as the rest of the people who had exited the building came bustling over.

"Weasly and Malfoy?" they asked urgently "It's them?"

Bill and Charlie nodded gravely.

There was a gasp from the group.

"Yes, come inside right now," they all quipped.

"We'll try to explain some things," Charlie promised, "But others we have no answers to."

"In the meantime, you should be relatively safe here," said Bill.

Ginny saw Dracos eyes widen at the word 'relatively', but he said nothing and neither did she.


	2. Ch 2

***

Bill, Charlie and the group of Ministry witches and wizards ushered a startled Fred, George, Ginny and Draco into the vast building.

They all flocked into a big room in which there stood a huge, round table. The Ministry members smoothed their robes, sighed and sank into the many chairs that surrounded the table.

Fred and George looked at each other, shrugged and took two seats beside Bill and Charlie.

Draco and Ginny were too perplexed and uptight to do something as relaxed as sitting.

Ginny glanced at Draco. He was wringing his hands, a skeptical look on his face.

An old wizard who was sitting in an ornately carved chair stood up and began to speak in a voice as rusty and gritty as old sand.

"As most of us know, our world has rarely seen a time when there has not been a threat posed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Of course, we all expected that those days were over when Harry Potter got the better of the Dark Lord."

Ginny saw Draco roll his eyes.

"But," the old wizard continued, "We have come to the conclusion that we are most certainly not free from his darkness, as we have all heard over the past days."

"Brilliant observation," Draco muttered dryly to himself.

Ginny, who was standing next to him, gave him a little kick and turned back to the wizard. The old man looked very tired, wrinkly and weathered, as though someone had taken a piece of sandpaper and wore him away.

Ginny found herself wondering absentmindedly which was older: The wizard. Or the ancient pyramid that she could see out of a window in back of him.

But her thoughts were re-directed as Charlie abruptly stood up and addressed the old wizard.

"We know that already, Albert," Charlie said impatiently, "I think the kids might want to know a little more than that too."

Albert looked at Charlie as though he had suggested that they all strip off their robes and go running around the desert stark naked. Albert glanced at the standing Draco and Ginny, then back at Charlie.

"I do not think," he sputtered, "That these children need to know any more than they already do. Just think how it would haunt them!"

The watching witches and wizards raised their eyebrows and stared at Albert.

"I do believe," said Bill, rising out of his chair as well, "That they have the right to know _everything_."

"They are far too young to truly understand-" Albert began in a determined voice, but he was cut off as Draco gave a sudden angry yell and pounded his fist on the table.

Everyone's heads snapped towards him, eyes wide and unblinking.

Dracos dazed and confused look was gone. It had been replaced with an angry sneer. His rage was reflected in his eyes, which glittered with inexpressible anger.

"We are _not_ too young to understand," he growled softly, teeth clenched, "As a matter of fact, I think I understand better than any of you. You all talk about the dark days when Voldemort was powerful," he shook his head and sneered as they flinched at the name.

"See?" he continued, "You all fear the name. I was brought up to respect the name, to worship the name," he spat scathingly, "I understand the Dark Arts and everything about them. There is no way you can tell me I'm too young. I know more than you ever will," he finished quietly.

Everyone was silent, still gazing at the blond-haired boy who had just stood up to one of the oldest and most respected members of the Ministy.

Draco glanced around. Then he said, "You all sit here and discuss what you like. I'm not going to be a part of it."

And before anyone could stop him, he gave one last icy glare and swept out of the room, banging noisily through the doors.

There was a tense silence in the room.

Ginny couldn't help but notice that both Bill and Charlie were smirking slightly at the fact that old Albert looked like someone had just slapped him in the face.

"Someone go and get that boy!" Albert cried outraged, quite red in the face.

"Why don't you go Ginny," Bill said softly, trying not to let a grin take over his whole face. Albert had gone even redder and was shaking quite uncontrollably.

"Do you think that is wise?" a witch with a shrill voice piped from her seat, "Should we let them off on their own?"

"Oh, they're only going to be right outside," Charlie replied impatiently.

Ginny sighed. "Very well. Take these for me, Fred." She handed Fred her robes and sweater that she had removed because of the heat. And after a thought, scooped Dracos up from the floor as well, where he had abandoned them when he made his exit.

She gave them to George, who took them as though he was accepting a moldy sandwich.

And Ginny left the room without so much as a backward glance.

***

Draco shoved his hands into his pockets and kicked miserably at a nearby stone. Then he gave an exasperated cry and pulled at his collar once again.

"Stupid heat," he muttered darkly, "I'm actually starting to like the idea of those Weasly twins landing us somewhere in Antarctica."

He wandered over to a tall statue that was standing at the entrance to a pyramid on his left. The statue was carved into a beautiful structure of a majestic lion. At the foot of the lion was a carved snake, head raised, fangs bared, ready to strike.

As Draco inspected the statue more closely, he noticed a withered inscription on the stone base. It read:

To all those who dare to wish, it is said this carving will bring forth luck. Rest your hand on the head of the lion and whisper your dream.

Draco snorted. Then he grew thoughtful. _Why not?_ _I could do with a bit of luck_, he thought.

He rested his palm tentatively on the head of the stone lion. The rock felt smooth and warm under his touch. He closed his eyes.

"I wish to see my father again," he whispered fervently, "And I hope-"

But a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"There you are!"

Draco opened his eyes. Ginny Weasly had appeared next to him.

"What are you doing?" she asked, looking at his hand on top of the lions head.

"Nothing," Draco said quickly, hastily removing his hand and shoving it in his pocket once more.

"You were talking to yourself," Ginny said slowly. Then she spotted the inscription on the statue. She bent down to read it, and then straitened back up and looked Draco in the eyes, her face expressionless.

"You were wishing on the statue," she said.

It wasn't a question. Draco fidgeted, but drew himself up to his full height and faced her.

"And if I was? There's nothing wrong with that is there?" he said fiercely, then he looked away from her inquiring eyes.

All of a sudden, he remembered the time at the beginning of the year when he had mocked her for wishing on a shooting star.

He gasped and looked quickly at her. From the comprehensive look on her face. He could tell that she remembered the incident too.

She looked at him with determination and said in a clear, final sort of voice, "Of course there's nothing wrong with wishing. But _I_ have known that all along."

Draco stared at her in disbelief as she turned her back on him and placed her hand on the statue right where his had been.

Draco heard her whisper something, but couldn't hear what it was. When she had finished, Ginny turned back around and faced Draco.

"They want you to go back to their counsel. Let's go," she said as if nothing had just happened, as if she had just found him standing there.

She began to walk back towards the building. But she had only gone two steps when Draco reached out and grabbed her arm, spinning her around.

"Not so fast," he said, his grip on her arm very tight.

"What?" Ginny cried, bewildered.

As confused as Ginny was however, it was nothing compared to what Draco was feeling. 

He couldn't believe what had just happened! She had been given the perfect opportunity to make him feel like an idiot! She had caught him wishing on a statue! If she did indeed remember how much he had made fun of her for doing the same thing on a star, why hadn't she seized the chance to get back at him?

"Why didn't you, I mean how come you didn't let me have it for wishing on that statue?" he stammered quietly, a little embarrassed.

Ginnr grinned suddenly.

"I think you've been hanging around with Slytherins too long," she laughed, "I don't think you're used to decent people."

Draco turned even redder, but before he could reply, Ginny stopped him.

"Enough of this," she said briskly, "We have to get back. And let go of my arm, you're cutting off my circulation."

Draco looked down and noticed that he _was_ still gripping her arm. He dropped it quickly.

"And please, no more angry outbursts," Ginny pleaded as he reluctantly trailed after her.

"I couldn't help it," Draco said shrugging, "That Albert fellow was quite a prat. Didn't know what he was talking about."

Ginny gave a thoughtful "Hmm…"

"And," Draco added with rigid bitterness, "All that rubbish about famous Harry Potter saving us all."

Ginny halted and Draco nearly walked into her.

Ginny whirled around to face Draco, her eyes blazing.

"I can't believe you," she whispered softly, so taken aback she couldn't even shout, "I honestly don't believe that even in the midst of all this, you would have the nerve to complain about Harry."

Draco took a step backward. He had never seen her this mad. Then he frowned. He couldn't let her get the upper hand.

"Well, everyone's always talking about him!" yelled Draco, letting all of his fury loose, "I'm sick of it! There's nothing special about him! If his mother hadn't dies for him, Harry Potter wouldn't even be here!"

Ginny seemed to swell up, like she was about to explode. 

"How dare you?" she shrieked, her eyes snapping, "If it weren't for Harry, I wouldn't be here right now! He saved my life don't forget!"

"Oh yes," Draco sneered sarcastically, "Let's not forget about that one. The famous Potter saved the Weasly girls life. I am so grateful for that one."

Ginny didn't speak for a few seconds, she couldn't get any words out. Draco made her so mad!

"If you had half the bravery and kindness Harry had," she said quietly, her voice shaking, "Maybe you would be able to amount to something."

"And that's just what I want, to be like Potter," spat Draco, "No thank you, I'll pass. I'd rather not get my head cut open to have people think I'm something great."

Ginny let out a fierce cry. "I don't know why I even bother! I don't know why we are discussing this either! What is the matter with you Malfoy? Do you just enjoy making me angry?!" she yelled, flinging up her hands.

Draco laughed icily and was about to reply scathingly when a huge rumble, like thunder coming closer and closer began to penetrate the silence of the vast desert. 

They both stopped shouting and glanced around fearfully, not knowing what was going on.

Then, to their right, Bill and Charlie and a large group of witches and wizards came running frantically towards them, pushing the twins ahead of them.

"Quick! Into the pyramid!" They shouted, shoving Fred, George, Ginny and Draco into the large opening.

The four children landed in a heap on the floor.

"No time to explain!" Charlie yelled.

"The pyramid is enchanted, you'll be safe in there!" shouted Bill, looking petrified.

And before they could ask any questions, Charlie conjured a stone door that fit into the opening of the pyramid.

Fred, George, Ginny and Draco all pressed their ears to the stone, trying to hear what was going on.

The rumble had turned into a deafening roar as loud as twenty dragons.

They could hear screams and shouts and blasts from wands coming from the outside of the pyramid.

"What do you suppose could be happening?" Fred gasped, shocked.

"Shut up Weasly!" Draco whispered impatiently, shoving him in the ribs.

"Don't!" Ginny cried, pushing Draco, who tumbled to the stone floor.

Fred, George and Ginny all turned and looked at him.

Draco stood up and brushed himself off. His face expressionless, he took one look at them all, and turned and walked in the opposite direction, into the depths and darkness of the ancient pyramid.


	3. Ch 3

The explosions outside the pyramid continued to tear across the dense quiet of the vast desert, shattering what had, five minutes ago been peaceful silence.

However, the explosions outside were nothing compared to the eruption that was occurring inside Ginny.

She knelt just inside the entrance of the pyramid, forehead resting on the cold, stone barrier that stood between her and the twins, and the outer world. Her eyes were determinedly squeezed shut, her jaws clenched and her knuckles white as she dug her fingernails into her palms.

Her mind was swimming with thoughts, all of them about Draco. Why did he have to be so difficult? Didn't he have any common courtesy at all? 

As Ginny pondered these questions, she tried to ignore the burning feeling that was swelling up in her chest. That feeling had been there for a while now, ever since she woke up to find her self in the Malfoy dungeons after being stunned.

She was so mixed up, her head felt like it was at the bursting point. She just couldn't comprehend her thoughts about Draco Malfoy. Whenever she thought she had finally figured him out completely, he surprised her.

Suddenly, she stood up, scattering small rocks and bits of sand. Fred and George looked up, they had both been pressing their ears against the stone barrier, listening intently.

"What do you think you're doing, Gin?" Fred hissed, looking appalled. 

"Stay here," Ginny said, striding down the path the way Draco had gone.

"Don't tell me you're going after Malfoy!" George gasped, abandoning his post at the barrier and lunging out to grab his sister's arm.

Ginny pulled her arm impatiently out of Georges grasp. "Let go, George!" Then she straitened up, her face set.

"I have something I need to do," she said quietly, not looking George in the eye.

George's eyebrows raised and his eyes widened.

"What is the matter with you lately, Gin?" he asked disbelievingly, "You are not acting normally. Have you forgotten who you are about to go gallivanting after?"

"He's not exactly what you think, George," Ginny muttered without thinking. Then she realized what she had said.

"What?" both Fred and George cried together.

Ginny's cheeks turned red. She couldn't look her brothers in the eye.

"Nevermind," she mumbled, fidgeting distractedly, "Just stay here. I'll be right back."

She turned on her heel and walked away from them, leaving them staring open-mouthed at her retreating back.

Ginny wrinkled her nose as she nervously walked deeper and deeper into the heart of the pyramid.

It was extremely dark and spooky. The very air seemed ancient, it hung heavy with sand and age-old dust. Every time Ginny inhaled, the dust coated her throat, making her cough dryly. 

She nearly fell down a flight of cracked, stone steps, but she caught herself just in time.

She proceeded to inch her way down the steps, wincing as something soft came in contact with her face. She stopped and pulled it away. It was a huge spider-web. Ginny moaned and peeled it away quickly, and as she continued to move down a narrow passage, kept pulling strands of it out of her hair.

As she turned a corner, a streak of dim light pierced the darkness. An opening at the opposite side of the passage was lit up, inviting Ginny inside.

Ginny frowned, not able to figure out why there would be light like this in the middle of an ancient pyramid.

"Well, those Egyptian wizards _were _a little strange," Ginny muttered, remembering her family trip to Egypt when she was twelve. 

Then a new thought struck her. Maybe Draco was somewhere around here! Ginny set her jaw and narrowed her eyes. She stepped towards the doorway, trying to look more confident than she felt. The burning feeling was beginning again in full measure. She painfully tried to ignore it, and stepped through the doorway.

It was a huge chamber, with a steep set of stairs leading down all surrounding a small pool at the bottom of the enormous room. The water in the pool looked rather brown, making Ginny shudder. Then she spotted the person walking aimlessly up and down the stairs. It was Draco, looking so preoccupied that he didn't even notice her entrance.

Ginny looked at him. She felt anxious, exited and exasperated, the same way she always felt when she was around him. As she watched him in silence, her expression softened.

She couldn't help but give a small smile at how wonderful he looked. He was pacing, apparently muttering to himself. He was wringing his hands in front of him. Strands of his sleek hair were falling into his eyes, but he either didn't notice or didn't want to be bothered by it.

Ginny gave an involuntary sigh as she gazed at his smooth, pale, perfect profile. Then she caught her self, and trying to collect herself, cleared her throat loudly. 

Draco looked up, startled. When he saw Ginny standing in the doorway, looking at him, he bit his lip furiously, then looked away.

Ginny was under the impression that he had been about to say something, then decided to go for a different approach.

"You know, ignoring me won't get you anywhere, Draco," she said cooly, striding down the steps towards him.

She saw his face go red and his mouth twitch, as though he was itching to reply, but he held fast to his oath and walked the opposite direction from her.

"You are acting like a little child, Draco Malfoy!" Ginny snapped suddenly, stamping her foot.

And her eyes widened as he whirled around to face her at last. Ginny took a step back at the look on his face.

He looked positively furious. His face looked pale and cold. His eyes were shooting daggers at her as she looked at him. But Ginny noticed something strange about his eyes. They looked mad, yes, but they also looked pained, as if he was harnessing the torment in his eyes that he refused to show in his face.

"Ever since I met you," he said slowly and softly, advancing on Ginny, "A day hasn't gone by when I haven't wished that you would leave me alone."

Ginny blinked, her throat burning.

"And," he continued, turning and walking down towards the pool, "Most of the time I've gotten my wish." He turned around to face her once more. "But it apparently has worn off after a while." His upper lip curled as he looked at her standing on the steps above him.

Ginny remained quiet, not allowing herself to let loose with the rage she was concealing inside.

"Every time I'm around you," Draco whispered, "I wish I could do something differently, something to change what might have happened…" He trailed off, and Ginny took the opportunity to snap at him.

"Well, you wouldn't have to wish to change something if you would just act decently in the first place," she said, teeth clamped together.

"That's where you come in, Weasly," Draco snapped, bristling, "With all your ideas about decency and respectfulness." He spat out the adjectives as though they were sour.

"They're not ideas!" Ginny cried, "They're common sense! And I don't think you have an ounce of it!"

"I wasn't brought up the same as you, Weasly," Draco snapped, "I come from a respectable family, not some overgrown red-headed mob."

Ginny trembled with rage, clenching her fists as tightly as they would go.

"If you had _half_ the wonderful characteristics of any member of my family, then maybe, just maybe you would be worth my time," she said slowly, skaing with fury.

Draco gave a dry laugh, which only irritated Ginny even more.

"Do you even have any real friends, Draco?" she shrieked, throwing up her arms in exasperation, "Have you ever actually had a real best friend? And don't you dare say Crabbe and Goyle," she added sternly as Draco began to open his mouth.

Draco didn't say anything, merely glared some more.

Ginny shook her head a little sadly.

"That is just what I thought," she said quietly, "You act like nothing bothers you, but inside you really just want someone to talk to."

Draco stiffened and stood strait up, but Ginny noticed that the pained look in his eyes had become more pronounced.

"Where do you come off telling me what I want, Weasly?" he said, sneering, "I don't need anyone to talk to, I can manage by myself."

"And a wonderful thing that's gotten you so far," Ginny said, rolling her eyes, "In Egypt, on the run from You-Know-Who."

"I don't think we need to have this discussion again," Draco shot back, "So why don't you just shut it now Weasly, and then we can be done with it."

Ginny gave a cry of exasperation. "How do you do it?" she yelled.

"Do what?" Draco asked, looking puzzled, but still glaring.

"Drive me mad!" Ginny answered, "No one else does this to me, I think you just _like_ making me so angry that I can't see strait!"

Draco gave a mischievous chuckle. "Well, it is rather entertaining," he said without meeting her eyes.

"Oh, I'm glad you think so," Ginny said acidly. Then as she looked at his sly smirk, "You are the most infuriating person I have ever met."

"You don't just mean the most infuriating boy?" Draco asked, grinning.

"No, I mean out of everyone," Ginny told him darkly, looking down.

"Then why haven't you ever done anything about it?" Draco asked quietly.

Ginny, caught by surprise, snapped her head up and looked quizzically at him.

"What did you just say?" she asked incredulously.

"I said, why haven't you ever done anything about it?" Draco repeated, giving her a lazy smile.

"I'm not a very violent person, Draco," she said, giving him a sardonic smile.

"But you've thought about it, haven't you?" Draco presses, trying to push her into a more interesting reply.

Ginny looked at him doubtfully. "What? Do you want me to say I think every day about, about, pushing you into a pool of enchanted water?" she asked, waving at the pool that stood directly behind Draco.

Draco's eyebrows raised. "So you do have these thoughts," he said, smirking with satisfaction, "So why don't you act on them?"

He raised his arms out to the sides of his body and backed up until the backs of his shoes were overlapping the edge of the pool about an inch.

"What are you doing?" Ginny asked, looking at him as though he was insane.

"Push me in," he said, grinning, "Just do it, you know you want to."

"I am not going to sink to your level Draco," Ginny said airily, turning her back on him.

She didn't hear Draco lower his arms or move away from the water. But she did hear his words as she walked away.

"Fine then…_baby_," came the softly mocking voice.

Ginny stopped in her tracks. Her memory shot back to the time in the dungeons when he had called her a baby. She remembered the anger she had felt, the way he had laughed at her…

And without warning, she struck. She spun around, arms out, prepared to push him into the water once and for all. She was moving so fast she didn't even have time to skid to a halt as Draco smoothly moved out of her way. She ran strait on, and with a splash, landed in the pool.

Down she went. Her mouth and eyes, unprepared for the impact with the water, had been left open and were filling with water.

She shot to the surface, and found that she could stand up, the pool was only about four and a half feet deep. She came up, sputtering and coughing as she tried to clear her waterlogged brain.

She saw through the wet strands of hair that were falling in her eyes, Draco standing at the edge of the pool, laughing his head off. He had tears in his eyes as he stood there, doubled over.

Ginny gave a demonic smile and reached out to grab his ankle. She gave a gigantic tug, and moved out of the way as Draco, who had suddenly stopped laughing and gave a gasp, hit the water with a smack.

He bobbed up to the surface, coughing just as Ginny had done. But to her surprise, he wasn't angry. On the contrary, he was still dissolved in fits of laughter.

Ginny gaped at his unexpected reaction, then she began to giggle at his uncontrollable laughter. Pretty soon she was chuckling just as hard as Draco was.

"See?" Draco managed to gasp in between great peals of laughter, "Giving into your violent thoughts can lead to, to-" he broke off, unable to continue as another wave of laughter silenced his words.

They stood there in the water together for about five minutes, their laughter echoing through the large chamber. The sound bounced off the walls and reverberated back. Ginny wouldn't have been surprised if the sound carried all through the vast pyramid and beyond, out into the open desert.

"I can't believe you," Ginny said, playfully splashing Draco, "What if this water _had_ been enchanted?"

"I knew it wasn't," he said, slapping some water good-naturedly back at her, "I tested it before you came and so rudely disturbed my silent musings."

"Oh hush," Ginny said, grinning. Then her expression became serious. "We really ought to get back. Let's go."

She waded over to the side of the pool and propped herself up, pulling her soaking body out of the pool.

Draco watched her, eyebrows raised. He tried to ignore the fact that her clothes were clinging to her small form. He shook himself and climbed out after her. 

"It's nice to see your hair not resembling plastic," Ginny said, smiling sarcastically.

"I like it that way," Draco retorted, grinning.

Ginny wrung out her own bright red strands of hair, letting the water drip onto the dusty steps.

She and Draco walked silently up the steps, towards the doorway that led out of the chamber with the pool. Neither of them could think of anything to say.

Ginny was feeling even more bewildered than usual, but oddly happy. Draco Malfoy had just proved that he could be human, and well, fun.

Draco was confused as well. He had never been able to just let loose like that. His father would be aghast at his behavior, Draco thought with a smirk. He found that he liked not having to be so stiff and formal all the time. As much as he hated to admit it, Ginny had been right, he had never had a best friend, someone he could just have fun with. All of the Slytherins would reject him in an instant if they had just witnessed what had happened. Draco found that he didn't much care about what they thought of him any more.

After a few minutes, the stone barrier and Fred and George's bright red hair shone through the darkness.

The twins eyes widened as they saw Draco and Ginny approach them, clothes sopping wet.

"What happened to you two?" Fred gasped, quickly rising to his feet, taking in their clothes and hair.

"Got caught in a sudden shower did you?" George asked, an expression identical to Fred's on his face.

"What's been going on?" Ginny asked quickly, trying to move the conversation in a different direction.

"The explosions stopped about fifteen minutes ago," Fred said slowly, his eyes still on their clothes, "But we haven't gone out there."

"No one came and got you?" Ginny asked, a little worried.

"Nope," George told her.

"Well, let's not delay it any longer," Draco said briskly, "It sounds quiet enough out there."

Fred nodded distractedly and pulled out his wand. "It's a good thing this can only be removed from the inside," Fred said. And then he cleared his throat, pointed his wand at the barrier and shouted "Reducto!"

The barrier was blasted out of the opening. And immediately a thick cloud of brown dust came whooshing into the pyramid, coating their clothes and engulfing them in sand.

They walked out, coughing, eyes watering. They stood just in front of the opening of the pyramid, unable to see anything through the thick dust.

Dimly, they could all see debris covering the ground in all directions. They could barely see it, but it looked as though the buildings that had once stood tall around the area were lying in pieces on the sand.

"Oh my goodness…" Ginny breathed softly, stepping out a little further, "What happened?"

"Give you one guess," Draco said grimly, "You're dripping Weasly," he added as a section of Ginny's sopping hair that she didn't get all of the water out of began to leak water all over the ground.

Ginny looked impatiently down at the ground. Then she screamed. The water had been dripping onto the body of someone that was lying on the ground, unmoving.

All of the boys gasped in horror. They looked around fearfully, and began to notice something as the dust thinned out.

There were bodies lying among the debris that was covering the ground.


	4. Ch 4

As Ginny's heart pounded furiously in her chest, she struggled to keep from shouting out again, but it was not an easy battle. Her breath was escaping from her quivering lips in sharp, ragged gasps and it felt like a tennis ball was lodged in her throat, preventing her from taking deep breaths to calm herself.

She wasn't aware of anything going on around her. She didn't notice that Draco stood silently next to her, pale-faced and wide-eyed, or that the twins had frozen in horror, their mouths open in identical expressions of terror and disbelief.

All Ginny could see through her stinging eyes was the body lying at her feet, still partially obscured by dust and debris. Her gaze remained locked on it, wild thoughts running through her mind.

_What the hell happened? What if the person down there is Bill or Charlie?! Oh my God, please don't let it be one of my brothers…_

Without a sound, Ginny slowly knelt down, arm outstretched until her trembling hand was right next to the motionless figure. Then she paused, not ready to face the horrible truth that might be revealed if she carried out her action.

Her pale fingers twitched a little, readying themselves for what they were about to do. Then, in one movement, Ginny grasped the robed shoulder in front of her and flipped the body over onto its back.

Fred, George and Draco all gasped simultaneously and took a faltering step backwards. Ginny didn't move. She knelt beside the man on the ground, her heart thumping so hard now that she was sure it would split her chest open. She couldn't avert eyes from the face. That face…it was horrible.

The eyes were wide and staring, the mouth, open in a silent scream, the skin pale and white. And to make it all worse, there were fine trickles of fresh, bright red blood running down the forehead and cheeks, creating patterns like veins as vivid as a rose on new fallen snow.

"My God, Albert," George whispered, taking a step foreword and kneeling next to Ginny.

Fred joined them, reached out and gently grasped Albert's hand.

"So cold," Fred muttered distantly, grimacing. He placed his index and middle fingers on the inside of Albert's wrist and paused. Everyone held their breath.

"Dead," Fred pronounced shortly, looking as though he was going to be sick.

Ginny let her chin drop and rest on her chest. She felt a warm tear slide down her cheek, but she didn't have any inkling to reach up and wipe it off. It fell onto the ground, creating a little wet spot of sand.

"Where are Bill and Charlie?" George asked urgently, his voice cracking as though he was struggling not to shed some tears as well.

Fred closed his eyes and sighed deeply, looking extremely pained.

Ginny couldn't bear to think of the answer to George's question. She didn't _want to think of what they might discover if they perused the answer._

Ginny didn't realize that she was crying heavily until a stream of warm, sticky tears fell onto the front of her blouse. She couldn't hold it in any longer. And with a wrench that felt as though someone had taken an iron glove and clenched her heart within it, she gave a great sob and buried her face in her hands.

Fred and George couldn't bear to see their sister like this. But nether of them attempted to comfort her. Fred awkwardly raised his arm to put it around Ginny's shoulders, but as a fresh wail burst forth from her, he stood up quickly, blinking back tears and biting his lower lip.

"Ok," George said in a defeated voice, "Ginny, you stay here." Fred and George looked at each other, then walked slowly away to look at some nearby damage, their feet hesitantly making their way across the sandy ground.

Draco still hadn't moved from where he had first stood when the fate of the old wizard, Albert had been revealed. Draco knew he should be feeling some sort of emotion at the discovery of his death, but he couldn't will himself to the extent of sadness, and he wasn't going to try and force himself into it. He knew perfectly well that most of his heart was pure coldness and hatred, and once he had made up his mind, nothing could melt the ice surrounding him and make him change his mind,

But then he had a sudden thought, Ginny. Ginny Weasly had managed; even against his will to take a little part of his bitterness and reforge it into something else…he had a tiny feeling he might know exactly what it was, but too much of him was still clouded and cloaked with darkness to want to think about it.

But she was still the only source of joy he had experienced in a long while. Somehow, every time he looked at her, he felt his eyes soften. When he was alone, it felt as though he was breathing in icy wind that filled his throat and nostrils and stung and burned as he inhaled. But the moment she looked at him, the wind became soft and warm, with the faint scent of cinnamon and flowers, and Draco could breath pleasantly again, eager to fill himself with the peaceful, intoxicating feeling he could only partake in when she was with him.

This girl, weeping at his feet, mourning over someone that he didn't care for in the slightest, caused a sharp pang of icy coldness to shoot through his body. He felt his eyes revert into their sharp, clear, menacing state, and even in the heat of the desert, the icy wind that Draco could never fully throw off his shoulders began to pond and whistle in his ears.

Ginny suddenly became aware that Draco was standing behind her. Though tears were still flowing down her wet and dirt-streaked cheeks, she was no longer wailing. She raised her head and turned it slowly, only to come face to face with a pair of legs. She raised her head slightly, until she was looking up into the pale face of Draco.

He was standing with his back to the glowing red sun, which reduced most of his body and face to dark shadows. But his porcelain skin, which could never be shrouded by any darkness that Ginny had ever seen, stood out against all the deep blues and purples of the shadows.

His cheeks had a slight flush to them, and his blonde hair was stirred up by a small breeze that had begun to play across their faces. Ginny couldn't help but notice his eyes, which were as cold and gray as she had ever seen them before. It suddenly struck her as odd that even such a cold person as Draco, could remain so undaunted by the heat of his surroundings. 

She sat up straighter, squinting at him through her wet eyes, unable to will herself to believe what she had seen in his face. Could it be? Yes, it was! There was a slight smile twisted on his lips.

Ginny felt her mouth drop open. How could he be smiling now, when victims of a terrible occurrence lay before them, scattered within their ruined surroundings? She found herself hoping that Draco didn't realize what he was doing, that it was merely an act of defense because he didn't know what to do in a situation like this.

Draco didn't hear her when she spoke, but he looked down, and saw her gazing at him through, wet, glistening eyes.

"I said, why are you smiling?" Ginny said, so softly that Draco wasn't sure that she had really spoken at all.

"I'm not," he said shortly, taking in her small, crouching form. This was Ginny Weasly as he had never seen her before, broken and helpless. Even back when he thought her to be a mindless little girl, he had never been able to deny the fact that she was incredibly spirited and independent, capable of standing up for herself and others. But the girl in front of him didn't resemble that girl in the slightest. 

"Yes you were," Ginny whispered, hanging her head and letting her red curls fall over her face.

"So what if I was?" Draco asked, a hint of disgust creeping into his voice. He didn't like her this way. He had always loved her fire, the energy she had! But it seemed as though her waterfall of tears had extinguished that fire, and left her pitiful and helpless. And he didn't like the cringing girl that sat before him.

"Draco…they're dead. They're all dead," she gasped, unable to keep the choking of tears out of her voice, "He killed them. All because of…because of us." And she dissolved in another wave of silent tears.

"Excuse me," Draco whispered dangerously, "All because of us? I don't think so, Weasly. And if you want the truth, I don't much care."

Ginny looked up at him, her wet eyes wide in disbelief. By now, her entire face was damp with the water from her tears, and even her freckles looked runny, like water seeping down a watercolor painting.

"You don't…you don't care?" she asked weakly. Her bottom lip trembled uncontrollably, and before she could say anything, her words were silenced by a huge surge of water from her eyes.

Draco looked at her and shook his head in disgust. He had been certain that comment would make her stand up to him, become her usual spirited self. Hell, he would have even liked her to hit him, as long as she stopped her pitiful moaning. It was worse than listening to Pansy Parkinson simpering over him at all hours of the day.

Oh well, Draco thought, if she was going to act like this, then he wasn't going to deal with it.

He resisted the urge to give her a good, hard kick then turned his back on her, walking over to the edge of their hideout pyramid and sat with his back against the stone wall, casting dark looks at her as she continued to sob.

"Good Lord!" Fred's voice hastily rang out, and Draco's head shot in its direction.

"Oh my God, Charlie!" George's voice joined Fred's, sounding as panicked as his twin's.

Draco saw Ginny finally lift herself off the ground, then hobble over to where the twins stood as weakly and wobbly as though she had forgotten how to walk.

After a moment of hesitation, Draco stood up, brushed himself of and went to join them.

Fred and George were standing by a large stone pillar that had apparently been a part of the building that now stood in ruins around it. They were both grunting and straining, trying to lift the pillar off of the ground.

"What the-" Daco began, walking around to the other side of the pillar, but then he stopped. Someone was lying, one leg under the huge pillar, pinned to the ground like a magnet stuck to a refrigerator.

Ginny seemed beyond the point of tears by now, Draco noticed. She took one look at Charlie, lying motionless under the pillar, and fell to the ground in a dead faint. 

Fred and George both had tears in their eyes as they looked from their sister to their seemingly dead brother.

"Get over here and help us," George cried shrilly, attempting to choke back the tears that were rapidly flowing from his eyes.

Draco looked once again at the thin form of Charlie Weasly. His bright red hair had been reduced to the color of brown dirt, and Draco didn't even want to think about what his leg looked like underneath the pillar.

"What do you need _my help for?" Draco asked coolly, still staring at Charlie, "Get out your wands."_

Fred and George both straitened up and stopped trying to remove the pillar from the ground. Instead, they both wiped their dirty sleeves on their faces, the dust mixing with their tears to leave dirt streaks across their freckled faces. Then they pulled out their wands. And in hushed and distant sounding voices, they said together, "Wingardium Leviosa."

Draco stepped back as the sound of rock scraping against sand and stone began to grind into their ears as the combined force of the two spells started to lift the vast pillar off of the ground.

The twin's faces were contorted with expressions of strain and determination as they struggled to lift the great stone object higher using their magic.

Finally, inch by inch, the pillar was levitating one foot above its victim's body. Since the pillar cast a dark shadow over everything underneath it, Draco couldn't see the body of the second-oldest Weasly boy, and for that he was glad.

"Malfoy, pull him out from under there!" Fred yelled furiously as he saw the blonde boy staring, unmoving at his brother.

When Draco still didn't move, for he looked like he was in a trance, George shouted, "For the love of God, Malfoy! Move!"

Draco dashed forward, and wincing slightly, quickly pulled the body out, unable to look at it. Fred and George waited for Draco to get Charlie out of the way, then they released the spell, and the pillar, with a huge thud, fell back onto the ground on top of sand and debris.

Fred and George quickly strided over to where Draco had pulled the body, only to be met with a grisly and terrible sight. The look on Draco's face was enough to tell them that he had looked down by mistake. Draco stood next to the body of Charlie, his face paler than it had ever been before, and his eyes fixed on the Weasly boy's horrible fate.

The leg that had been trapped by the pillar was crushed and mangled, with sharp ends of the broken leg bones penetrating the outer layer of skin. The whole leg was covered in thick, rusty colored blood and looked as if an animal had come along and had ruthlessly tore chunks out of it. 

The rest of Charlie, though none as severely mangled as his leg, was still not comforting. His arms and face were covered in many painful looking cuts and bruises, and an exceptionally deep gash was sliced in his skin over his left eyebrow, leaving a trail of red-brown blood running over his closed eyelid and down to his chin.

"Merlin's Beard," Fred breathed, turning slightly green at the sight of Charlie's appearance.

"Charlie, oh please no, come on Charlie!" George screamed, turning very red in the face, "What about us? What about your family?! Don't' do this to us!" George let out a yell as loud as a dragon roar, and then furiously pounded his fist against a nearby wall that had gotten the rest of the building blasted away. Then he sank to the ground sobbing, his back against the wall and his head in his hands.

Fred seemed to be beyond tears or hysteria. To Draco, Fred's face showed no outward emotion, but when Draco cocked his head and really looked at him, he saw that everything Fred was hiding was in his eyes.

They were bright, holding no hint of tears, but Draco could clearly see how much pain was contained within their depths. It was almost like flipping through the pages of an old diary. You can read everything very clearly, and even though the memories are mere shadows of the past, you can sense all the pain, anxiety and fears of the person who had written it.

Draco felt a jolt inside him. And he felt his feet moving towards Fred, who had knelt on the ground beside his brother. Draco saw Fred's hand reach down and gently grip his brother's own, limp, white hand. And he saw as Fred solemnly held the hand up to his face and hold Charlie's palm up against his own cheek, his eyes all the while deepening with their increasing struggles.

Draco didn't even realize he was doing it, but quite suddenly he found himself kneeling down next to Fred and resting his hand on the grieving boy's shoulder.

Fred looked up slowly, into the face of Draco. And Draco could tell there was a new emotion in his eyes, something remarkably like understanding and forgiving.

Draco looked down at Charlie. He knew how he would feel if this was a member of _his family lying like that on the ground. The fact that it wasn't, just a member of someone else's family made Draco hate himself and his selfishness even more._

He felt sorry for the Weasly's. It suddenly struck him like a blot of lightning.

Draco took his hand off Fred's shoulder and carefully wrapped his own cold fingers around the wrist on Charlie's hand that Fred was holding.

"Bloody hell…" Draco whispered abruptly, his eyes widening and his mouth open in surprise.

"What?" Fred gasped, looking at Draco's stunned expression.

"Fred, your brother! Charlie! He's alive!"

Fred looked at Draco a little angrily, as though he thought he wasn't being serious.

"Stop it Malfoy!" Fred snapped, a few tears finally making their way down his cheeks.

"Here! See for yourself!" Draco cried excitedly, thrusting Charlie's hand into Fred's own once again. Draco placed two of Fred's fingers on Charlie's wrist, then sat back and watched the look on Fred's face go from horror, to disbelief, to utter excitement.

"I don't believe it!" Fred screeched, looking at Draco, a huge smile plastered on his face, "George, he's alive! He's _alive!"_

"What?" George stopped sobbing and scooted over to them on his hands and knees. He too, felt the faint, but definite pulse that swelled under the light touch of his two fingers.

"Fred," George said softly, "It's true. He IS alive!"

Fred and George, both crying with happiness, embraced each other joyously. 

"Well, we'd better bandage up those wounds or he won't be for long," Draco cut in, genuinely concerned, "We have to stop the blood flow, he might have lost too much already."

Fred and George suddenly became as serious as Draco had ever seen them.

"Right," Fred said briskly, pulling out his wand. George did the same, and within seconds, the twins had magically conjured bandages that covered all of Charlie's many wounds.

Fred conjured a stretcher that hovered in midair about 4 feet off the ground, and with Draco and George's help, the three boys lifted Charlie as carefully as they could off the ground and laid him to rest on the stretcher, making sure not to disturb his horrifying, demolished leg.

"He needs some serious medical help that we definitely can't provide," George said in a commanding voice, "We have to get him out of here right away."

George reached out and gingerly tucked in bandage that had come undone on Charlie's leg.

"But what about B-" Fred began, but he stopped at once when he saw Charlie stir ever so slightly at Georges touch.

"Charlie!" Fred gasped, standing over him, "Can you hear me, Charlie?"

Charlie's eyes did not open, but he gave a very small, very weak nod.

"We have to get him out of here! And we have to get ourselves out! Who knows what might happen if we stick around the battle scene?!" Draco said gravely.

George nodded. "But Bill-" He started to say, but once again, movement from Charlie cut him off.

"Bill…got away…not here anymore…" mumbled Charlie in a raspy, sot voice, eyes still not open. As he finished his astonishing statement, he fell completely silent once again.

All three boys looked at each other. Then, both of the twins moved at the same time.

Fred ran over to where Ginny still lay in a dead faint, scooped her up and went back to George and Draco. George pulled out his wand and conjured another stretcher for Ginny, and Fred set her down upon it.

"Bill got away," Fred said, talking quickly as he and George conjured ropes and tied them around Charlie and Ginny on the stretchers, "We have got to get away as well. We have to know more, and get some help for Charlie. We're running out of time."

"You don't have your wand, isn't that right?" George said to Draco as he finished tying a knot.

"That's right," Draco said, feeling very useless. 

"All right then Fred, help me," George directed.

Fred nodded, and he and George both flicked their wands and two jets of bright orange light smothered Draco and the two stretchers. When the light had cleared, Draco looked at them quizzically.

"Don't tell anyone we did that," Fred said sternly.

"And what exactly did you do?"

"We made it so you, Charlie and Ginny will be taken wherever we go when we Disapparate. It's a very closely monitored spell. It's not supposed to be used, really. Too many older witches and wizards would be using it to get places faster so they didn't have to bother with other wizards who hadn't passed the test yet, or with those who didn't have their wands." Fred told him matter-of-factly.

Draco nodded silently, his head pounding.

"All right then, on with it," George said rigidly. Fred, George and Draco all pressed in close together, each of their hearts pounding as forcefully as the next. They each grasped one hand onto a stretcher.

"Wait! Where are we going to go?" Draco asked quickly, a hint of panic in his voice, "What are we going to do?"

"Something we should have done a long time ago," Fred said darkly. And with two jets of gleaming gold light, the Egyptian sun quickly melted away in a swirl of twinkling lights. 


	5. Ch 5

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As the last of the sandy landscape rushed away, Draco hastily squeezed his eyes shut. His stomach wasn't in the best condition, and seeing the state of Charlies injuries hadn't exactly done anything to ease the nausea. He felt like he was going to be sick at any moment, and keeping his eyes shut seemed to help a little.

He could sense, rather than feel, his hands firmly gripped on each stretcher that was speeding along with him and his conscious companions. And just as he thought that he would surely faint if the twin's spell didn't end, he felt his stomach give an enormous heave, and he was thrown face first, eyes still closed, onto a dusty floor.

Draco didn't get up. He lay still on the floor, breathing in the scent of the dust. It wasn't extremely pleasant, but he suddenly felt unbelievably tired, unable to sit up to see where they were. Wait, where were they?

Draco sat up slowly and opened his eyes, but for a second he couldn't figure out if he really had or not. Opening his eyes made no difference in the darkness of the place in which they had landed. Draco put his hands up to his eyes, feeling them as he raised and lowered his eyelids. Satisfied at last that his eyes were indeed open, he hissed into the darkness, the filthy dust choking him.

"Fred, George, where the hell are we?" Draco rasped, sputtering, the dust coating the inside of his throat.

A soft whisper came floating through the darkness from Dracos right side.

"Lumos," Fred said softly, and his wand tip illuminated, casting a small circle of soft, yellow light around them.

Draco gazed around. This was not Hogwarts. He didn't know where it was, but it was definitely not the school. Everything outside the small sphere of light was pure shadow, but from what Draco could see, the place was a small room, with a low ceiling. There were many wooden crates and boxes stacked up around the walls towering as high as the ceiling would allow them. There was also a small, wooden staircase that led up to the floor above. Draco couldn't see it because of the darkness, but he assumed that there was a trapdoor at the top of the stairs as well.

As Draco looked back at Fred, he was surprised to see the ghost of a smile flicker across Freds face, or perhaps it was just the light from his wand.

"Well?" Draco prompted urgently, "I thought we were going to go to Hogwarts! This isn't Hogwarts you prats! I thought even two goof-offs like you would have enough sense to get to Dumbledore right away!" Draco felt the heat rising in his face as he spat out the words like they were poison.

George's wand suddenly lit up as well, illuminating the scowl that had appeared on his face.

"We're in the Honeydukes basement," George said, still frowning at Draco, "You can't Apparate directly inside the Hogwarts castle or grounds." Then George stooped down to check that the bindings were still tight around Ginny and Charlie's stretchers.

"So who's the prat now?" Fred murmured as he passed Draco, a satisfied smirk on his face. 

Draco gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to turn around and hit Fred in the face. Instead, he turned around and said with a fierce smile, "So! We can't go to Hogwarts, so you send us to the candy shop instead. What happened? Forget to stock up on Fizzing Whizbees before you found us? Well, I suppose I understand, I mean, getting your candy is always first on the priorities list, even above saving someone's life."

Both Fred and George looked at him, identical expressions of dislike on their faces.

"Actually Malfoy," Fred said airily, "We figured that if we brought you here, you'd be so greedy that you would want to stay forever, and we could just be rid of you!"

"And it's too bad that is not the case," Draco sneered with mock regret.

"Malfoy," George snapped impatiently, "Why don't you just shut your mouth when you don't know what you are talking about!"

"Which is all the time," Fred added in a low mutter.

"We'll get to Hogwarts from here," George continued before Draco could reply, "Get off your lazy behind and help us find the trapdoor! Quickly! Don't forget, Charlie needs to get some help!"

Draco still didn't move. He just sat, watching the twins moving impatiently around the room, wands held high, illuminating the dusty floor. For all Draco could see, there was no trapdoor to be seen.

"I know it's hidden very well, but we've always been able to spot it immediately," George said to himself, a little annoyed.

"We are in Honeydukes, aren't we?" Fred inquired sounding nervous.

George whipped his wand light towards a tower of nearby crates. They all bore labels like: **Jelly Slugs, Acid Pops, Droobles Best Blowing Gum and Chocolate Frogs.**

Fred and George nodded to each other, and then continued to search impatiently. When they found nothing still, they looked over at the seated Draco.

Draco saw their eyes widen in surprise, and then they both rushed over to him.

"I don't believe it!" Fred moaned, grabbing Dracos arm.

"Get up, Malfoy!" George cried, also attempting to pry Draco up as well.

"What the?" Draco said as he was pulled to a standing position, "What is wrong with you two?"

"You lug! Ask yourself that question!" Fred spat out.

Draco watched as Fred and George crouched down and ran their fingers over the ground where Draco had been sitting moments before. Then he saw them lift up a trapdoor that was built into the basement floor.

Draco felt his ears go red. Fred and George looked up at him and shook their heads in unison.

"Next time, Malfoy," George said briskly, "When you're told to stop being lazy, heed the person who commands you."

Draco rolled his eyes.

"Like now!" Fred yelled impatiently, getting up and standing over Charlie, "Get over here and help with this thing!"

Draco gave a low growl and reluctantly went over to aid Fred in finalizing the tightness of the straps that held Charlie to the stretcher. Then they firmly secured Ginny's as well.

As Draco peered through the semi-darkness down into the face of the small, red-headed girl, he struggled to keep from giving her a sharp slap on the side of her face. 

Pushing his feelings of contempt out of his mind, he watched as Fred and George raised their wands and with a flick of each, had suspended the stretchers in midair. 

George jumped down into the trapdoor, and then Fred directed the stretchers after him. Fred made a motion for Draco to follow him. And after quickly grabbing a chocolate frog from a nearby crate and shoving it into his pocket, Draco scampered down as well.

As Draco landed, he reached up and pulled the trapdoor shut above him, casting the place into complete darkness, except for the dim circles of light permeating from Fred and Georges wands.

Draco took a tentative step foreword, and cleanly fell right on top of Fred, who promptly buckled underneath the weight.

"Watch out, there are stairs here," George whispered from the head of the line.

"Oh sure, now he tells me," Draco muttered darkly to himself.

Fred shoved Draco off and resumed his careful watch on the stretchers.

Draco brushed his pants and sweater off and shivered. It was getting colder by the minute as they inched their way down the endless stone steps. Then Draco realized why it was so chilly; he had left his robes back in Egypt. He couldn't quite remember where, it might have been in the pyramid.

Just as he was beginning to curse himself for shedding his warmer garments, the steps leveled out. Draco wasn't ready for that, and nearly fell on top of Fred again, but he regained his balance and kept a steady pace.

"How much further do we have to go?" Draco rasped, teeth chattering.

Fred turned around and looked at Draco. His face lit up with a wicked grin as he said evenly, "What's the matter? Cold, Malfoy? I had heard that snakes were cold-blooded, but I have never known it to be taken so literally."

George sniggered softly, but suddenly stopped short and looked back at them. Fred and Draco watched silently as George slowly reached down, unclasped Charlie's cloak from the body of its lifeless owner and handed it to Draco, a very serious expression on his face.

Draco looked at Georges hand with the worn, dirt-streaked cloak. Then, his eyes never leaving Georges, took it into his own cold, trembling hand.

"Thank you," Draco whispered, as he pulled it on.

George nodded curtly, and after a second, went back to the front of the line.

As they progressed down the low, earthy passageway, Draco clutched the old cloak around him, rubbing the rough material. It was dirty, old and frayed, nothing like the cloaks that his mother and father usually bought for him. Those were sleek, shiny and very expensive. But Draco doubted that even if his father had all the Galleons in the world he would be capable of buying one that warmed him as much as this one.

Draco was surprised to feel one icy tear make its way down his cheek. He didn't brush it away, but held one arm up and allowed it to fall onto the cloak.

"Almost there," George muttered quietly from the front of the line, "We're almost there."

Sure enough, they came to the end of the passageway, only to find themselves at the foot of a stone slide. It rose up into the darkness, farther then they could see.

"All right, now we have to climb," Fred told Draco, "George, you stay back here with me so we can make sure the stretchers get up all right. Malfoy, you go first." Fred gave Draco a little nudge, pushing him foreword.

Draco took a deep breath, and began to climb, the stone smooth and cold under his knees and hands. He could hear the stretchers drifting slowly behind him, and the twins rustling along as well.

More than one time Draco almost fell and tumbled back down the chute, but the thought of getting Charlie to the hospital wing kept him going strong.

Draco was concentrating so fiercely that he barely noticed when his head hit something very hard. The he gave a low moan.

"Fred, George, we've hit something. Well, at least my head did," Draco told them, rubbing the top of his throbbing skull.

"Good! Push up, Malfoy!" George called, sounding exited.

"What?"

"Push up!" Fred and George said together.

Draco shrugged and pushed with all his might above him, and the area where he had hit his head suddenly gave way.

Draco found himself poking his head out of a statue. He stopped there, adjusting his eyes to the light of the flaming torches that were all along the walls.

Torches…statue…Draco suddenly gave a cry.

"Hogwarts!" he breathed in relief. 

"Never thought I'd see anyone that happy to be in school," Fred chuckled from below, his voice sounding muffled.

"Well, aren't you anxious to reunite with it while you're out of the statue?" George asked, laughing, "Come on, let's get a move on!"

Draco grinned and jumped out of the statue, then straightened up and turned around.

It was the statue of the hump-backed witch! In the third floor corridor! How many times had he walked down this hallway and past this statue? He never thought there might be a secret passageway concealed within it!

As Draco gazed in awe at the witch, the two stretchers floated tentatively out of the hump. They were shortly followed by the bright red hair of the twins as they poked their heads out.

"All right, I'm betting it's just around dinnertime," George said briskly, extricating himself from the statue.

"We have to hurry and get to the hospital wing while everyone is in the Great Hall," Fred said as his twin gave him a hand out of the statue as well.

When both twins were standing upright on the floor, they quickly unstrapped Ginny from her stretcher.

"What are you doing?" Draco hissed in alarm.

"We have to go fast," George said sounding rushed, "To make a stretcher go fast is hard work. And it's even harder if it's carrying someone as heavy as Charlie. You are going to have to carry Ginny."

Draco raised his eyebrows and looked at the small figure of Ginny lying on the stretcher, her flaming locks covering her face.

"No objections," Fred said firmly, lifting Ginny up and setting her in Dracos outstretched arms, "It's going to take two of us for the right spell to move Charlie. Now come on!"

Draco began to run down the hallway towards the hospital wing. Fred and George were in front, speeding Charlie along as fast as their magic would allow.

Draco was surprised at how light Ginny was. She felt so delicate and breakable, but he knew that she definitely wasn't those things. Then Draco scowled a little. He couldn't help but still resent her after her behavior in Egypt.

Draco shook his head fervently, none of that mattered right now. All that mattered was getting to the hospital wing.

He skidded around a corner, almost losing his balance. He looked quickly down at Ginny as he ran along after the twins. Suddenly and quietly, her eyes flew open, set ablaze by the light from the torches that encrusted the walls.

"Draco…I…" Ginny began quietly, her voice faltering as Draco continued to run with her in his arms.

"Be quiet, we're taking you to the hospital wing, Charlie too."

"Bill," Ginny murmured, eyes widening in alarm.

"Be quiet, Ginny" Draco said as softly as he could manage while still running, "Everything is going to be all right."

As soon as he said it, he regretted it. He knew that he had no right to speak such a lie. But he somehow didn't feel like crushing any remaining hope that Ginny had left. 

He felt something brush against his hand, and he looked down, startled. Ginny had grabbed a hold of his hand, and was holding it tightly in her own, her eyes closed once more.

Draco grinned a little with renewed spirit as he increased his speed, running flat out. The hospital wing was in sight; Charlie was going to make it! And Ginny…Ginny would always be able to make it. He could tell by her small hand that was firmly enclosed in his own.

Her hand was slightly rough and callused, as though she had been through a lot in a hard life, too hard a life for such a small girl. 

Draco suddenly felt angry. He had grown up as rich as it was possible to be. He never had to do any work. He had never known anything but a huge manor with lots of servants. There was no way he would have been able to survive the life that the Weasly family must have gone through, with limited money and a small house. 

"Ginny," Draco whispered as they reached the door of the hospital wing.

But Ginny did not speak, although her hand was still firmly clasped in his, she had slipped back into unconsciousness once again.

Draco skidded to a stop as Fred and George threw open the door to the hospital wing. It revealed a line of beds, all with crisp white sheets and pillows. 

It was almost entirely quiet, except for the soft murmur of people talking further down the row of beds.

"See, Mr. Creevey?" a woman's voice said sounding satisfied, "Your ears are perfectly normal again, I told you I would be able to fix them back on."  

"Thank you Madame Pomfrey," a boy's voice answered, sounding relieved.

"You may go back to dinner now," the nurse said briskly, "And you tell that Mr. Weasly to keep his wand in his pocket if he knows what is good for him."

Colin Creevey emerged from behind the hanging at the end of the room, patting his ears. 

He walked towards the door, the Gryffindor emblem on his robes standing out against all the black. Draco saw his eyes widen as he stopped dead, staring at the company that had appeared in the doorway of the hospital wing.

Fred, Geroge and Draco all winced as Colin let out a high-pitched shriek that Draco thought must have sent every owl in the trees outside Hogwarts soaring into the night sky.

Madame Pomfrey gave a shout and threw back the white curtain that she was concealed behind.

"Mr. Creevey!" She shrieked striding over to him, her hand at her heart, "What on earth do you think you're-" She stopped in mid sentence as her face went as white as Colin's.

Both Colin and Madame Pomfrey mouthed wordlessly, as they stared at the three boys standing in the threshold to the hospital wing.

"There is no time to explain, Madame Pomfrey," George cried, suddenly extremely panicked, "You need to help Charlie and Ginny right away, please!"

Madame Pomfrey still looked very flustered, but her nursing instincts seemed to kick in as she examined Charlie's wounds with a slight tint of green in her cheeks.

"You can help him, can't you?" Fred said, peering at Madame Pomfreys face, "Will he be all right?"

"These wounds are terrible," Madame Pomfrey said professionally, "I need to get to work right away. All of you take a bed, you need to rest."

"We're fine, help Charlie," Fred said determinedly.

Still inspecting Charlie's wounds, Madame Pomfrey took on an official air. "All of you, in a bed now!"

Fred, George and Draco all looked at each other, and then backed slowly away from the preoccupied nurse. Fred and George sat down on a bed, looking restless. Draco gently set Ginny down on the bed nearest to Nurse Pomfrey, and then settled himself at the foot of it, taking Ginny's hand into his own.

With a side glance at Fred and George who were both biting their bottom lips looking expectant, Draco silently brushed a few strands of Ginny's hair away from her eyes, and then once again encased her hand with his own.

A stammering voice quickly cut into his thoughts. "You, you, everyone thinks you're, what are you doing-" Colin was still standing open mouthed and staring at the scene that was going on around him.

"Well, we're not dead, Creevey," Draco said icily.

"Mr. Creevey!" Madame Pomfrey's stern voice said, cutting acidly through the awkward moment, "Get out of here now! These patients need to rest!"

Colin suddenly seemed to become mobile again. With one last startled look, he dashed out of the hospital wing, his robes billowing behind him.

"And don't you dare tell any of the students about this!" Madame Pomfrey shouted as the door slammed shut.

But it was too late, Colin was gone.


	6. Ch 6

**A/N**: To my readers: Sorry this chapter is so short! I promise the next one will be longer! Thanks for reading!

*        *        *

"Oh dear," Madame Pomfrey muttered, "Not long before we have swarms of students attempting to break that door down."

Draco shut his eyes with a grimace. He really didn't feel like dealing with the whole school right now. If they all thought he was dead, that was fine by him. It had been nice while it lasted. There had been no pressure from any of his fellow students to uphold a certain image, or act a certain way. To be thrust into this environment once again was going to be torture, Draco thought with contempt. For one wild moment, he wished he was back in Egypt, far from Hogwarts and its occupants. Then he realized what a potentially insane notion that was, and pushed the thought out of his mind. 

The only sounds in the room for the next five minutes were that of Madame Pomfrey muttering distractedly to herself as she bustled about the room, gathering various potions to heal Charlie.

Draco was just about to ask her about Charlies condition when the door to the hospital wing flew open with a tremendous bang, making everyone in the room, with the exception of Charlie and Ginny, jump five feet into the air.

Three people had appeared in the doorway, and to Dracos relief, they weren't students.

"Poppy, how is he?" Professor Dumbledore asked urgently as he floated right past Draco, Ginny and the twins.

Standing over Madame Pomfrey and her patient, Dumbledores eyes glimmered with concern.

"He'll be quite all right, Albus," Madame Pomfrey said. She sounded breathless and relieved. "He just needs lots of rest and care. It's a good thing he was brought to me quickly, any longer and I don't think he would have made it."

Her last words were spoken in a low tone meant for only the Headmasters ears, but Draco heard her and as he looked over and caught the twins eyes, he knew they had heard it too.

"It is the loss of blood, is it not?" Professor McGonagall piped up from Dumbledores side.

"Yes," Madame Pomfrey sighed, looking forlorn, "That will take quite a while to heal. I can fix the bones in his leg fairly easily though."

"How fortunate," a silky voice drawled, breaking the fragile atmosphere that was penetrating the hospital wing.

Dracos eyes finally fell on the third person who had walked into the room. Severus Snape stood a few steps back from Charlie and everyone surrounding him, his usual black robes clutched tightly around him. His cool, black eyes showed no hint of concern as he gazed down at the injured boy with a perfectly smooth, unreadable expression on his face.

Both Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore looked up at the potions master. Professor McGonagalls usual stern expression remained the same as she glanced over at Draco, then back at Snape.

"Severus, your student has returned, I suggest you go tend to that affair, rather than stand here and not be of help," McGonagall said harshly.

Snape didn't respond, but turned around and walked briskly over to Draco, who was still seated on the bed at Ginnys feet.

Draco looked up into the pale face of his house leader, and for the first time in his life he felt some fear looking into those glinting, black eyes.

Draco had always been Snapes favorite student, and they had understood each other. But now Draco almost trembled under the gaze that he used to be so accustomed to.

What if Snape sensed that he, Draco, had changed? What if he could tell that he had lost some of his pride that had been so favored in the members of the Slytherin house? What if Snape thought he had grown softer because he had befriended the Weasleys? What if he told his father about it?!

"Good day, Draco," Snape said silkily, looking down at the boy, "It is good to have you back in the castle where you belong."

"Yes sir, it is," Draco said, struggling not to stammer.

"I can only imagine the horror of what you had to go through," Snape went on, casting a nasty look at Ginny, who remained unconscious.

"Y-yes, Sir," Draco said rigidly.

"To think that the Dark Lord is after you, Mr. Malfoy," Snape said evenly, not even bothering to handle the subject with care, "You and Weasley over there," he finished with a sneer, looking at Ginny.

"Yes, it's quite odd," Draco mumbled, suddenly wishing he could switch places with Ginny and be the unconscious one so he wouldn't have to continue this conversation. He could feel where it was leading, and he didn't like it.

"Quite odd indeed, that the Dark Lord would seek use of such a pair of lives. One of good status and one of, well, less worthiness should we say?" he finished with a slippery grin.

Draco noticed that he was speaking softly enough so the adults near the end of the room standing over Charlie couldn't hear him, but just audible enough that Fred and George could. With a sideways glance, Draco could see the increasing fury building up inside them as they listened to Snapes voice.

Without waiting for Draco to say anything, Snape went on. "I trust that you did not let little Miss Weasley tell you what to do, Draco? I trust that you showed her who is boss when things are at such high stakes."

Dracos mouth fell open in disbelief. How could anyone worry about a thing like that with so much going on? He glanced over at Fred and George, who were both staring hard at him, their eyes almost pleading. Draco gulped. He knew what he had to do.

"I'm sorry Sir?" He said quietly, hoping to distract Snape from the direction that he was leading the conversation.

"I said," Snape repeated more loudly, but still not loud enough to draw looks from the other teachers, "You did not let that little red-headed brat get the better of you, correct?"

Draco opened his mouth, and then a soft voice came from behind him.

"What?" Ginny asked quietly, tears swelling up in her eyes.

"Ginny," Draco began, hating the pure hurt that had come over her face. But Snape laid a firm hand on Dracos shoulder, silencing him.

"Be quiet, Miss Weasley," Snape hissed menacingly, "Weak little girls have no place in the conversation of her superiors. Am I right, Draco?" Snape said, pulling Draco towards him and looking him hard in the eye.

"Well…" Draco said softly, hesitating. 

Snape suddenly let go of him, and cast him a suspicious look. "Mr. Malfoy, what is wrong with you?" he whispered dangerously. Surely you have not let the Weasleys influence your once reasonable judgment?"

"Well…" Dracos eyes darted from the tear streaked face and hurt eyes to the twins, who were both looking at him in a confused, pleading way.

"Perhaps we should take this matter up with your father?" Snape suggested smoothly, raising his eyebrows.

Dracos eyes shot open and his head snapped towards Snape. His father…no, his father must not suspect a thing.

"No Professor, there is no need to get my father involved," Draco said quickly.

"Then you have not changed?" Snape said, still looking suspecting, "You have not let this riffraff cloud your mind?"

And without taking his eyes off Ginny, Draco answered. "No, professor, I haven't. My judgment has remained unaltered, even within the company of people like the Weasleys."

Draco couldn't bear to look at the faces of the Weasleys after the words escaped his lips. He could just imagine Ginnys big, brown eyes bright with tears, her soft red lips quivering as she struggled to hold back her disappointment and anger. The twins would be looking furious, their hands clenched into fists, their anger beyond words.

Snape however, seemed fully satisfied with Dracos answer, and with a nasty smirk pulled him off of Ginnys bed and began to lead him away to another part of the hospital wing.

Draco let himself be pulled along. And as his heart sank a little more with each step, the seriousness of what he had just done began to sink in.


End file.
